FMT - Khalid trashes Chin’s criticism of new Pakatan
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PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan’s communications director, Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, has trashed Bersih leader Maria Chin Abdullah’s claim that the decision to form the coalition was hasty.
Speaking to FMT, Khalid said the coalition was a continuation of the Pakatan Rakyat pact, “just as much as Bersih 4 was a continuation of previous Bersih rallies.”
Asked to respond to questions regarding PAS’ exclusion, Khalid said that while it was entirely up to the Islamist party to join or shun Pakatan Harapan, the new coalition could neither wait for it to make up its mind nor plan for it.
“Pakatan Harapan can’t wait because it is not something new but a continuation of Pakatan Rakyat and the sooner we get together re-endorsing our commitment to form a new government the better,” he said.
A news report yesterday quoted Chin as saying Pakatan Harapan was launched before the three component parties – DAP, PKR and Amanah – had come up with anything concrete to offer Malaysians as an alternative to Barisan Nasional (BN).
Yes, Maria Chin Abdullah must make up her mind, whether to be politically active at the sharp end or to remain head of a neutral NGO which campaigns for fair and clean election.
PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan’s communications director, Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, has trashed Bersih leader Maria Chin Abdullah’s claim that the decision to form the coalition was hasty.
Speaking to FMT, Khalid said the coalition was a continuation of the Pakatan Rakyat pact, “just as much as Bersih 4 was a continuation of previous Bersih rallies.”
Asked to respond to questions regarding PAS’ exclusion, Khalid said that while it was entirely up to the Islamist party to join or shun Pakatan Harapan, the new coalition could neither wait for it to make up its mind nor plan for it.
“Pakatan Harapan can’t wait because it is not something new but a continuation of Pakatan Rakyat and the sooner we get together re-endorsing our commitment to form a new government the better,” he said.
A news report yesterday quoted Chin as saying Pakatan Harapan was launched before the three component parties – DAP, PKR and Amanah – had come up with anything concrete to offer Malaysians as an alternative to Barisan Nasional (BN).
As I once penned, Bersih under Maria Chin Abdullah has gone off track from the NGO's objective of clean and fair elections.
Let's recollect what Bersih' objectives as laid out in 2011 have been. They are:
- Clean up of the electoral roll
- Reform of postal ballot
- Use of indelible ink
- Minimum 21 days of campaign period
- Free and fair access to mass media for all parties
- Strengthening of public institutions
- No corruption
- No dirty politics
WTF is Bersih doing today under Maria Chin Abdullah?
Is it Bersih 4.0's charter to depose of an elected PM?
Personally I suspected so when Bersih in the person of Maria Chin Abdullah saw it fit to praise a former RMAF officer as a hero, and for what you may asked, but for violating Armed Forces Council Instructions, yes, VIOLATING military instructions. That's Maria Chin's perception of a hero!
I had then remarked that unless someone wise up this new chairperson of Bersih the organization will soon lose its perspective, and sadly with that, all the investments made by Bersih's former leader, Ambiga Sreenevasan, which had earned Bersih 2.0 much respect and admiration, would be squandered completely by Maria Chin's new Bersih leadership.
The NGO is no longer about clean and fair elections. It has now become a mainstream political organization which seeks to depose of an elected PM. It now has only one honorable recourse - it must register itself as a political party.
Then, as if Bersih 4 had not been enough, Maria Chin Abdullah had subsequently also wanted to lobby MP to vote against Najib.
That's fine but at least she should, as I had recommended, register Bersih appropriately as a political party since she has effectively changed the NGO (about clean and fair elections) into that.
Yes, Maria Chin Abdullah must make up her mind, whether to be politically active at the sharp end or to remain head of a neutral NGO which campaigns for fair and clean election.
If she intends to be head of Bersih, meaning the latter, then she should bloody well mind her own business as to whether Pakatan Harapan has been hastily formed or otherwise.
She seems to be either a confused activist which has been why I see Bersih 4.0 as a confused NGO, or as I suspect, she wants to be a political KINGMAKER, one who wants to change PM, one who pontificates pompously on the timing of Pakatan Harapan's political formation as if that's her business, one who ... god only knows what she wants next?