Hantu Laut
Gerakan may get a windfall in Sabah if party-less Deputy Chief Minister Raymond Tan joins the party.
Tan has been a pain in the arse for other component parties in Sabah BN after he left SAPP and become a man without a party.
SAPP jumped one step too fast into believing Anwar Ibrahim's mission impossible of taking over the Federal Government on 16 Sept 2008. They discarded Abdullah Badawi and the BN to the political dustbin, prematurely. Alas! The day of reckoning for the BN never came. Abdullah has been replaced, BN is still the boss, Anwar Ibrahim is still chasing the elusive dream and new Prime Minister Najib is busy doing his walk-about.He is now in Sabah.
There were chorus of calls for him to step down from his ministerial posts both from the oppositions as well as BN component parties, particularly LDP who is eyeing the positions for the party.
Tan is Minister of Infrastructure as well as Deputy Chief Minister.It was also rumored that Au Kam, the assemblyman for Elopura might join him. If what was reported is true than MCA would be in a quandary.Gerakan will get 2 state seats on the platter while MCA has only 1 state seat after having contested in 2 general elections in Sabah.
Which party Tan wish to join is his prerogative and the component parties should not squabble over it. Keeping him as minister is also the prerogative of Chief Minister Musa Aman who probably didn't want to upset the applecart. Getting Tan to resign or dismissed would create even bigger problems, there would be intense lobbying and infighting among the BN components in Sabah to try get the positions.
Ghafur Salleh lamented that the BN has never agreed to Independent BN supporters, a remark either made out of ignorant, arrogant or just sheer foolishness.
A government can appoint anyone as minister if it can't find one suitable from its own stable. Many advanced democracies especially those in the West, go beyond party politics, to fill ministerial or other critical positions with people or professionals that are more qualified to do the job.
Prime Minister Najib is in Sabah and we would know by to-night whether Gerakan is getting the windfall.
2 comments:
To join a dying party like the Gerakan now is pointless. Gerakan itself is facing a huge identity crisis and is fighting for its survival. Conscientious Gerakan members like Dr Toh Kin Woon have quit the party and expressed their support for Anwar Ibrahim. Better still, some others have quit the party and actually joined PKR, like Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong, Gan Kok Keng and 20 other FT Gerakan members. A letter writer in Malaysiakini wrote that Gerakan now "has only grass and no roots," and Lim Kit Siang has informed us that over 60% of the remaining Gerakan members want to quit the party.
The Gerakan leader, Koh Tsu Koon is pitiable. He helped the party and BN as a whole lose Penang. Under his leadership, Gerakan has in fact been electorally wiped out from its birthplace! He is now shamelessly dependent on UMNO for his political survival. Tak tahu malu!
So why would anyone in his right mind join Gerakan now? Is Hantulaut telling us that Deputy Chief Minister Raymond Tan's mind is not right? Maybe. But I suspect there is a trick up his and the Gerakan's sleeves which Najib does not know, and (very much like his Perak debacle) he will live to regret later on. Maybe, after joining Gerakan, Gerakan itself will quit the BN and join the ranks of the opposition? Who knows? If Najib himself can be Prime Minister of Malaysia, anything is indeed possible in Malaysian politics!
Just an attempt by Raymond to hold on to his DCM seat.
He can't join LDP or he'll have to start over again from the bottom.
He can't start a new party under BN either because of LDP.
MCA? Same case as joining LDP.
No choice. Gerakan, since they're already weak and has no other choice but to accept anything in order to survive politically.
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