Abdullah ends his first term as PM with his credibility, reputation and reform pledges in tatters with his 12-hour somersault of “no” and then “yes” to dissolution of Parliament yesterday 

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has ended his first term as Prime Minister with his credibility, reputation and reform pledges in tatters with his 12-hour somersault of “no” and then “yes” to dissolution of Parliament yesterday.

It has given powerful illustration of Lingam-speak – “He looks like the Prime Minister, he sounds like the Prime Minister, but no one can say 100% that he is the Prime Minister”!

In his press conference yesterday announcing the dissolution of Parliament. Abdullah tried to explain why he had ended his first term as Prime Minister with a lie on Tuesday night categorically denying that Parliament would be dissolved yesterday and yet doing precisely the opposite 12 hours later in seeking an audience with the Yang di Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament.

Abdullah explained he could not give any clue to the date as he needed to get the consent of the Yang di Pertuan Agong first before he could make the announcement.

Agreed. But has Abdullah to tell a lie, declaring: "The Cabinet meeting will go on, go on and go on” after dismissing suggestion that yesterday’s Cabinet meeting will be the last for the 11th parliamentary term?

Need Abdullah be reminded that what he had done is totally against the Islam Hadhari which he had propounded as Prime Minister and Chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC)?

What is also shocking is the triple disrespect and insensitivity in dissolving Parliament on the 7th day of the Chinese New Year, because:

• It is the auspicious Day of Ren - a day when Chinese take time to reflect on their inter-personal relationships with others and be resolute to be a better & wiser person or “Ren”;

• Insensitivity of the 9th Day of the Chinese New Year – Pai Tian Gong, the birthday of the Jade Emperor and a major event for the Hokkiens in Penang.and Malaysia; and

• Insensitivity of Chap Goh Mei to mark the end of the 15-day Chinese New Year celebrations.

What is even more shocking is the defence of this triple disrespect and insensitivity of the Chinese New Year by the Chinese leaders in the Barisan Nasional like Ong Ka Ting and Koh Tsu Koon, illustrating their totally marginalized role in the Barisan Nasional decision-making process when they could not even convince the Prime Minister to wait for eight days before dissolving Parliament so as not to commit another cultural and religious insensitivity in a matter of three months after the holding of the UMNO general assembly on Deepavali last November.

The New Straits Times today reported that Koh dismissed as mischievous the DAP’s claims that he, as Acting Gerakan President, was “kow-towing” to UMNO over the choice of candidate for the Penang Chief Minister’s post.

Koh was following Abdullah’s precedent in telling a lie to end his four terms as Penang Chief Minister when he claimed that in submitting three names to Abdullah to pick as the next Penang Gerakan Chief Minister, he was just sticking to the principle, procedure and tradition of referring such matters to the prime minister, who is the BN chairman.

After the 1990 general election, the Gerakan leadership did not surrender the right to decide who should be the Penang Chief Minister to UMNO or the Barisan Nasional President.

It was the Gerakan Central Working Committee which decided which one of the two contenders, Koh Tsu Koon or Dr. Goh Cheng Teik, should be selected as the Penang Gerakan Chief Minister after the electoral defeat of Dr. Lim Chong Eu.

Both Koh Tsu Koon and Goh Cheng Teik were asked to leave the Gerakan Central Working Committee meeting to allow the CWC members to deliberate and decide on the matter, at the end of which, both were called back to the CWC to be informed that the choice of the Gerakan CWC (actually that of the then Gerakan President Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik) fell on Koh Tsu Koon.

Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who was then Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional President, was never asked to choose from the two candidates, Tsu Koon and Cheng Teik, as to who should be the Gerakan Penang Chief Minister.

Why has Tsu Koon set a new precedent in surrendering the decision as to who would be the next Penang Gerakan Chief Minister to the Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional President, which in effect would mean vesting in Abdullah’s powerful son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddun the decision who would be the next Gerakan Penang Chief Minister.

It would also mean a precedent would be set that it is UMNO and not Gerakan which would henceforth decide who will be the Penang Gerakan Chief Minister – and Khairy’s favourite is clearly the Deputy Information Minister Chia Kwang Chye – before Penang UMNO finally achieves its ambition to have an UMNO Penang Chief Minister!

Tsu Koon may want to forget Khairy’s infamous excoriation of the Penang Gerakan State Government of having marginalized the Penang Malays, but Penangites and Malaysians are not going to be as forgetful as the Gerakan Acting President.

Did Tsu Koon act unilaterally in surrendering the prerogative of the Gerakan to decide who should be the next Penang Gerakan Chief Minister or did he get the full authorization of the Gerakan Central Committee to make such an unprecedented concession tantamount to renunciation of party independence and integrity?

Did former Gerakan President Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik give his blessing and support to the new precedent of concession set by Tsu Koon – that it is now for UMNO and in particular Khairy Jamaluddin to decide who should be the next Gerakan Penang Chief Minister?

* Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Opposition Leader, MP for Ipoh Timur & DAP Central Policy and Strategic Planning Commission Chairman