PKR threatens to pull out of Perak state admin

Just as one fire has been doused in Perak over the appointment of a PAS man as the new mentri besar post, another one is taking place.

PKR has today threatened to pull out from the Perak state administration on hearing that eight of the 10 executive council posts will go to DAP while the remaining two going to other parties.

In a statement issued by PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali, the opposition party expressed its objection to “the agreement made between PAS and DAP with regards to the composition of the Perak state exco”.

“In the spirit of sincere openness, we stress that the composition of the exco must reflect the composition of the population of Perak and represent the interests of all ethnic groups fairly,” said Syed Husin.

“We ask that this composition be discussed again and if the composition is not altered to the satisfaction of all parties involved, PKR will not take part in the administration of Perak.”

However, he said that PKR will honour its agreement to support the coalition government. This means that PKR representatives will remain part of the governing coalition in the state assembly but will not take up any exco posts.

According to available statistics, Malays represent 53.7 percent of the population in Perak, Chinese (31.4 percent) and Indians (13 percent).

Earlier agreement 6-2-2

It is believed that an earlier agreement between the three parties was for the 10 exco posts to be distributed among them where DAP will have six, PKR two and PAS two.

DAP state chairman Ngeh Koo Ham, who is set to be the state's deputy chief minister, expressed surprise over the comments which he described as premature.

"I don't know why PKR is making this statement because all this is still very premature. We have yet to make any decision on what the composition of the Exco will be so how can they say these kind of these (comments) now," he told AFP.

In last Saturday’s general election, the opposition won an unprecedented 31 of 59 state seats - DAP 18, while PKR has seven and PAS six. The remaining 28 are in the hands of BN, with Umno 27 and MCA 1.

According to Syed Husin, PKR accepts Sultan Azlan Shah’s decision to appoint PAS state assemblyman, Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, as menteri besar of Perak.

“While at first we stressed the need to choose an individual that will be well received by the majority, we now accept the decision in the spirit of cooperation between PKR, PAS and DAP as well as in the interests of stability and harmony for Perak and for the whole of Malaysia.”

Furore in Perak

DAP, being the largest party, would normally have the right to name the chief minister, but state law says the candidate should be a Muslim Malay, so the opposition alliance left it to the state's sultan to decide between their three candidates.

Yesterday, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang created a furore when he said DAP would boycott the swearing-in ceremony today in protest against Nizar’s appointment as mentri besar.

However, in a dramatic reversal this morning, he apologised for any offence caused to the Perak royalty over his statement, which he said was not made out of disrespect to the Perak sultan and regent.

Meanwhile, Ngeh Malaysiakini that all the party’s elected representatives will attend the swearing in ceremony before the Sultan of Perak in Kuala Kangsar at 4pm.

Ngee said that the boycott threat was averted under a deal where PAS had agreed that all decisions made by the chief minister would have to go through the new DAP-controlled state executive council first.

Relations between PAS and DAP have long been strained due to their widely differing ideologies, and PKR had been the contact point for the two parties in the run-up to the elections.

"They need to build a level of trust," said Tricia Yeoh from the Centre for Public Policy Studies think-tank.

"I think it's still possible for PAS and DAP to work together as long as neither one of them tries to gain the upper hand," she told AFP.