DAP chairperson Karpal Singh has moved to quell disquiet over a statement by one the party’s Penang leaders, who had urged PKR to give up several Malay-majority seats for the next general election.

dap karpal singhKarpal said the statement by Penang DAP committee member Zulkifli Mohd Noor does not reflect the views of the party’s central leadership and that it was unwarranted.

“Zulkifli’s statement is of momentous insignificance,” said Karpal in a statement.

Karpal warned DAP members who wish to contest the general election not to resort to tactics that could cause disunity and suspicion among Pakatan Rakyat component parties.

“Any statement touching upon issues relating to seat allocation in the coming elections should, and must, emanate from the national leadership of the DAP, PKR and PAS and no one else. Let that be understood,” he said.

Karpal said that DAP would not perform a “political rip-off” on a Pakatan component party which has “fallen on evil days”.

Although PKR has suffered from defections by “political renegades”, he said the core leadership of the party remains intact.

“The DAP has allowed Anwar Ibrahim to continue as Opposition Leader despite the DAP now having more seats in Parliament than PKR, after the exodus of MPs not worth their salt.

“Tazlanogether with the DAP, PKR and PAS, Pakatan is well on its way to Putrajaya.”

Zulkifli had urged PKR to make way in several Malay-majority seats in order to help DAP shed its “anti-Malay” image as portrayed by Umno.

He said that DAP’s popularity is on the rise and the party should field more candidates of Malay origin.

Following this, Penang PKR information chief Johari Kassim issued a statement telling DAP leaders to “advise” Zulkifli against making statements that would “rock the boat”.

Matter for internal discussion

Asked to comment, DAP national secretary general Lim Guan Eng  advised DAP and PKR members to stop discussing the issue in public.

NONELim, who is Penang chief minister, was quick to add that his comment was not meant as a "gag order" but merely "as advice".

"Please stop making statements in the press because this matter must be discussed between the Pakatan (allies) internally," he told members of both parties today.

Asked if disciplinary action would be taken against Zulkifli for his remarks, Lim said it is better to let the matter rest.

Any disciplinary action must involve both DAP and PKR members, as they had expressed their discontentment publicly.

Those who refused to let the issue rest would be dealt with accordingly, Lim said.

"Please do not comment any more, let the matter rest, or else we will fall into the trap of our opponents," he said.

"We will pursue this matter between the three parties' state leadership."