We will be following what’s happening in and around the Perak State Assembly this morning.
Pakatan assembly members march to the Dewan this morning – Photo by Jong
After the sitting this morning, Nizar walked up to where Ganesan was presiding in the Dewan and criticised him for allegedly allowing police “to intrude into the Dewan”, saying that as a lawyer, Ganesan should have known better. “You are a pengecut,” Nizar admonished Ganesan, who responded with a smile.
This morning I bumped into a retired veteran politician and we got to chatting about current developments over a cup of coffee.
Top of the list of talking points was the resignation and U-turn by Yip Sun Onn, the Perlis State Assembly member for Titi Tinggi. Yip reportedly retracted his resignation from the assembly in a text message to the Perlis Speaker last night.
The veteran politician sounded perplexed and bewildered at what had happened. From all his years in politics, he had always understood that once a resignation letter was handed over to the Speaker, the Speaker had to declare the seat vacant and inform the Election Commission, whose duty it was to conduct a by-election. He had never heard of a retraction. Neither had most of us. Just goes to show how terrified they are of by-elections these days.
Political parties in Malaysia can learn a thing or two from Parti Sosialis Malaysia: the party has made it a point for their two elected reps and three councillors to disclose their assets and income to the public every year.
Declaring their assets at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall - Photo courtesy of PSM
Their asset disclosures are each accompanied by an annual performance report.
You can see the asset disclosures here. Even so, the format could be improved to include disclosures of the assets belonging to immediate family members and comparative figures for the previous year to indicate if there has been any significant increase.
Two Mentris Besar, two Speakers, two assembly sessions, two sets of rules. Only in OneMalaysia.
Congrats to the BN! It finally broke the Pakatan’s winning streak on the peninsula. There will be much rejoicing in the mainstream media about how the tide has turned.
But at what cost?
In its desperation to win in its own stronghold, Umno put up a popular local candidate whom its own party disciplinary board had found guilty of “money politics” (let’s call a spade a spade and refer to it as corruption). A candidate who perhaps best reflects the ethos of the party – at a time when the MCA itself is in utter disarray following the PKFZ debacle.
What message does this send out about “1Malaysia” and “1World”? We might as well disband the MACC…