Zahrain will face PKR disciplinary board
Athi ShankarPublished: Feb 8, 2010 9:05 AM | Updated: Feb 8, 2010 9:11 AM
Contrary to rumours floated about by his critics, Bayan Baru member of parliament Zahrain Hashim will face the PKR disciplinary board after all.
Contrary to rumours floated about by his critics, Bayan Baru member of parliament Zahrain Hashim will face the PKR disciplinary board after all.
He said that he is duty-bound to clarify his recent outburst against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is also the DAP secretary-general and therefore a Pakatan Rakyat ally.
Zahrain had branded Lim as a “chauvinist, communist-minded dictator.”
PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution had emailed a letter last week informing Zahrain that he has been referred to the disciplinary board. A date has yet to be set for the hearing.
“I will explain the reasons for saying what I said. I stand by my criticism and I think I reflect the views of the majority of party members,” said Zahrain (left), a member of the PKR political bureau.
He dismissed speculation that he will defect from Pakatan Rakyat before the inquiry. There has been talk that he will lead several other PKR MPs in becoming Independent parliamentarians aligned to Barisan Nasional.
“I am not going anywhere at the moment,” he said.
Zahrain aside, others such as Zaid Ibrahim and MPs Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal) and Zulkifli Noordin (Bandar Baru Kulim) will also be hauled up by the disciplinary board for breaching the party’s code of conduct.
Ever since Zahrain caused the political furore late last month with his seething attacks on Lim’s style of governance, DAP politicians and cyber troopers have criticised and branded him as a ‘frustrated man’, an ‘Umno agent’ and a ‘BN agent’.
“When anyone criticises Lim (right) or any other DAP politician, they are branded as this and that agent. It is as if (the latter) are immune from criticism and are untouchable!” said Zahrain.
He said he plans to sue certain DAP politicians for falsely linking him and his family with the privatised management of the state-owned Bukit Jambul Golf & Country Club in Penang. Issues relating to the tender process had sparked his tirade against Lim.
‘Protecting PKR interests’
Zahrain also expressed disappointment with Penang Deputy Chief Minister 1 and state PKR chief Mansor Othman for criticising him over his outburst against Lim.
“It saddens me when my party colleagues attack me for safeguarding PKR interests and rights within the Pakatan state government,” he said.
Mansor (left) has claimed that Zahrain had never raised any complaints against Lim when he was the state PKR chief.
Refuting this, Zahrain said he had openly disagreed with Lim on many issues such as the appointment of former Gerakan parliamentarian Lee Kah Choon as executive chairperson of Invest Penang.
He also had a much-publicised feud with Lim over the sacking of PKR whip Johari Kassim from the Seberang Perai Municipal Council.
Another clash was over the appointment of civil servants as heads of local councils and the state government’s perceived mishandling of the Kampung Buah Pala fiasco.
Zahrain claimed that Mansor had ‘begged’ him to take over the state PKR after the party was virtually wiped out in Penang after the 2004 general election.
Mansor was the founding Penang PKR chief from 1998 to May 2005 when Zahrain took over. Under Mansor, PKR suffered massive electoral losses in Penang during the 1999 and 2004 general elections.
“I inherited a state branch in shambles from Mansor. I, with several others, built up the state party machinery from scratch and achieved unprecedented electoral gains in the last general election,” added Zahrain.
“There was no Lim Guan Eng or DAP or even Pakatan then. It was PKR on its own. Certain politicians have forgotten this after getting elected.”
Mansor replaced Zahrain last November as state party chief.
He said that he is duty-bound to clarify his recent outburst against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is also the DAP secretary-general and therefore a Pakatan Rakyat ally.
Zahrain had branded Lim as a “chauvinist, communist-minded dictator.”
PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution had emailed a letter last week informing Zahrain that he has been referred to the disciplinary board. A date has yet to be set for the hearing.
“I will explain the reasons for saying what I said. I stand by my criticism and I think I reflect the views of the majority of party members,” said Zahrain (left), a member of the PKR political bureau. He dismissed speculation that he will defect from Pakatan Rakyat before the inquiry. There has been talk that he will lead several other PKR MPs in becoming Independent parliamentarians aligned to Barisan Nasional.
“I am not going anywhere at the moment,” he said.
Zahrain aside, others such as Zaid Ibrahim and MPs Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal) and Zulkifli Noordin (Bandar Baru Kulim) will also be hauled up by the disciplinary board for breaching the party’s code of conduct.
Ever since Zahrain caused the political furore late last month with his seething attacks on Lim’s style of governance, DAP politicians and cyber troopers have criticised and branded him as a ‘frustrated man’, an ‘Umno agent’ and a ‘BN agent’.
“When anyone criticises Lim (right) or any other DAP politician, they are branded as this and that agent. It is as if (the latter) are immune from criticism and are untouchable!” said Zahrain.He said he plans to sue certain DAP politicians for falsely linking him and his family with the privatised management of the state-owned Bukit Jambul Golf & Country Club in Penang. Issues relating to the tender process had sparked his tirade against Lim.
‘Protecting PKR interests’
Zahrain also expressed disappointment with Penang Deputy Chief Minister 1 and state PKR chief Mansor Othman for criticising him over his outburst against Lim.
“It saddens me when my party colleagues attack me for safeguarding PKR interests and rights within the Pakatan state government,” he said.
Mansor (left) has claimed that Zahrain had never raised any complaints against Lim when he was the state PKR chief.Refuting this, Zahrain said he had openly disagreed with Lim on many issues such as the appointment of former Gerakan parliamentarian Lee Kah Choon as executive chairperson of Invest Penang.
He also had a much-publicised feud with Lim over the sacking of PKR whip Johari Kassim from the Seberang Perai Municipal Council.
Another clash was over the appointment of civil servants as heads of local councils and the state government’s perceived mishandling of the Kampung Buah Pala fiasco.
Zahrain claimed that Mansor had ‘begged’ him to take over the state PKR after the party was virtually wiped out in Penang after the 2004 general election.
Mansor was the founding Penang PKR chief from 1998 to May 2005 when Zahrain took over. Under Mansor, PKR suffered massive electoral losses in Penang during the 1999 and 2004 general elections.
“I inherited a state branch in shambles from Mansor. I, with several others, built up the state party machinery from scratch and achieved unprecedented electoral gains in the last general election,” added Zahrain.
“There was no Lim Guan Eng or DAP or even Pakatan then. It was PKR on its own. Certain politicians have forgotten this after getting elected.”
Mansor replaced Zahrain last November as state party chief.
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