'Anwar ill-informed on S'wak shadow cabinet'

The Sarawak DAP said the shadow cabinet set up by the state Pakatan Rakyat leadership is final, contrary to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim's remarks yesterday.

The line-up, said Sarawak DAP leader Wong Ho Leng in a statement today, was announced on May 1 after "proper" consultation at a Sarawak Pakatan leadership council meeting in Kuching.

He said Anwar had not been properly briefed on the matter by his party representatives present at the meeting that discussed the shadow cabinet line-up.

"Such a lack of communication is unfortunate," said Wong (left).

Prior to the announcement, the line-up was discussed and approved by the Sarawak DAP and PKR leadership.

PAS commissioner Adam Ahid and his deputy were scheduled to attend, but were unable to turn up.

Wong said Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian was in Sabah at the time but sent three representatives - PKR national vice-president John Tenewi Nuek, state PKR Wanita chief Nurhanim Mokshenand and state PKR publicity chief Vernon Kedit to the meeting.

Baru kept abreast of meeting

Baru was kept abreast of the proceedings by telephone and the written statement was amended twice to reflect the amended line-up before it was read out to the press.

"Consensus was clearly reached since there was no objection to the amended line-up when I read it out, one portfolio at a time, in the presence of the representatives from both sides," Wong said, adding that Adam had endorsed the line-up through his deputy.

"Since it is merely a shadow cabinet, no portfolio is ranked more important or senior to another.

"The purpose of the shadow cabinet is to ensure division of labour on the part of assemblypersons from the Pakatan Rakyat. It will ensure development of specialities in the respective fields.

"The primary aim of the shadow cabinet is to ensure alternative views and to provide better and more constructive debates in the state legislative assembly."

Wong stressed that the line-up was no reflection of the portfolios the Pakatan state assemblypersons would hold should the coalition form the state government.

"The fact that there are more DAP members in the shadow cabinet is merely because DAP has 12 elected representatives compared with PKR's three, and all elected representatives have been appointed to the shadow cabinet," he added.