Nazri a 'loose cannon', says Gerakan

Gerakan today hit out at Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz, calling him a "loose cannon" for allegedly belittling the party in an exclusive interview with a Chinese daily recently.

Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon (right) said he was shocked when he read the "severity of his statement", and demanded that Nazri come out publicly to clarify whether or not he had made such offensive remarks against BN component parties.

"If he was misquoted, then he better clarify the situation. If he was misquoted, the paper should apologise but if not, then it is up to him to decide what to do... he is a grown man," Koh said at a press conference in the Parliament lobby.

Koh was asked to comment on reports carried by a few mainstream papers today where Nazri was quoted as saying he was unaware of the contents of his controversial interview and that he was only giving an example of an angry wife complaining about her husband to a third party, but unwilling to ask for a divorce.

The content of his Nanyang Siang Pao interview however was far more provocative, where he described MCA "like a wife who keeps complaining to outsiders that she has been detained, sexually abused and denied food by her husband, but she refuses to divorce".

Nazri was also quoted in the interview telling MCA president Chua Soi Lek (left) to stop condemning Umno just to shore up his reputation in a bid to become a "Chinese hero", even poking fun at Chua's sex DVD scandal.

Gerakan and MIC were also not spared his jibes, calling Gerakan "a party without grassroots", while he told MIC to hand over the six seats it lost in Perak in the last general elections.

MCA leaders have since slammed Nazri for going against the spirit of 1Malaysia, while Gerakan secretary-general Teng Chang Yeow said the minister's "idiotic" and "ignorant" remarks have lead Gerakan to consider whether or not it should remain with BN.

 'Umno perceived as arrogant'

Clearly unhappy with Nazri's statement, Koh said it was "irresponsible and damaging" to BN, especially as they are preparing to face the Sarawak elections and the next general elections.

He said Nazri's open criticism of BN component parties not only goes against the BN spirit, but also "doesn't help" BN's efforts to break the perception that Umno is arrogant.

"Such views should not have been expressed in such terms. It gives the public perception that we are not united at all.

"His remark was very unfair. We have stood up from the (March 2008) tsunami and our grassroots are working very hard... why is he shooting our own allies?" Koh stressed.

When asked if he will ask the BN leadership to take action against Nazri, Koh said he will "leave it to the leaders to decide".

"Personally, I have no intention of going to see him (Nazri), but if I do run into him I will give him a piece of my mind," he said.