MPSP controversy caused by PKR negligence
The appointment of senior public officer Mokhtar Mohd Jait
to head the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) has certainly sparked a crisis within the state Pakatan Rakyat coalition.
DAP and PKR local leaders have traded jibes and blamed each other for the controversy.
One would agree that the DAP-dominated Pakatan state government has indulged into a circumstantial manipulation to dupe and deny PKR the coveted MPSP president’s post.
In January this year, the newly formed Pakatan state council agreed in principle to appoint politicians, replacing civil servants, to helm both the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) and MPSP.
PKR then has staked a claim for the MPSP president’s post and even picked Mansor Othman as its nominee.
But that was before PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim decided that Mansor’s aptitude would be better utilised to replace then under-performing Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin as the state deputy chief minister 1.
Following the state Pakatan council decision, Penang DAP chairperson Chow Kon Yeow said then he would refer the matter for his party state committee acceptance and to the state executive council led by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
A power struggle
An executive councillor in charge of local government and traffic management affairs, Chow now disclosed that the state government had rejected the proposal.
But according to PKR state leader, Zahrain Hashim, the state government decided to defer the matter for another six months following the extension of then MPSP president Farizan Darus’ tenure until September.
However, when Farizan was appointed as the state finance officer last week, PKR sensed that the party had been hoodwinked.
PKR leadership knew then Lim’s government had reached an arbitral decision to appoint Mokhtar to head MPSP.
Lim showed his shrewdness by directing Mansor, who was appointed as DCM 1 on Wednesday morning, to announce Mokhtar’s appointment a few hours later.
It was clear to PKR that the DAP had taken advantage of PKR negligence and complacency on the issue
One PKR leader blamed Zahrain for allowing room for Lim to manoeuver.
“Zahrain immediately brought up the issue personally to Lim, instead of depending on PKR state exco members, and followed it up.
“He should have constantly put pressure on Lim to accept PKR’s wish to helm MPSP,” he said.
Crisis deepened in Penang Pakatan when eight PKR MPSP councillors, led by Johari Kassim, who boycotted Mokhtar’s swearing-in last Thursday.
This prompted Lim’s camp to gun for Johari’s head and pressure PKR to force his resignation from the council.
But during a fiery state PKR meeting among the party parliamentarians, state legislators and councillors, some 30 representatives defended Johari and flatly scoffed at DAP’ s call to sack him as a whip councillor.
PKR representatives at the meeting consensually declared that they were frequently sidelined by the DAP-dominated state government on many major decision-making since Pakatan stormed to power in last year’s general election.
They acknowledged that DAP had regularly used its numerical advantages to outsmart and out-muscle PKR.
DAP has 19 elected state assemblypersons and eight executive councillors while PKR has nine state representatives and three executive councillors.
“The power is in Lim’s hand. We are at a disadvantage,” said a PKR leader.
One faction after another
One important issue that surfaced in midst of the controversy was the role played by PKR executive councillors Abdul Malik Kassim and Law Choo Kiang in safeguarding the party interests in the state government.
Both were blasted at the meeting for not doing enough of it.
Malik was the main target with one representative telling Zahrain to probe the state legislator on whether he knew the appointment of Mokhtar before hand and hid the issue from knowledge of the state party leadership.
Some blamed former DCM 1 Fairus incompetence was among the reason behind DAP’s frequent bullying of PKR in the state decision making process.
However, majority blamed Malik, who did not attend the meeting, as the bigger culprit in not protecting his own party interests.
He was rapped for keeping things to himself and, not regularly providing feedbacks, referring and informing the state PKR leadership on state government issues.
The PKR representatives were so uneasy with Malik’s close proximity with Chief Minister Lim that they fondly addressed him as ‘Lim Mah Lek.’
Law, who was present, also earned the wrath of PKR representatives for being a lameduck in issues affecting PKR at the state exco level.
He is now being referred as ‘Lim Choo Kiang.’
“It’s nothing wrong in being close with Chief Minister to get their things done.
“But it should not be at PKR’s expense,” said a party source.
Zahrain, also the Bayan Baru member of Parliament, also came under heavy criticism for defending close friend Malik on many issues.
However, the state PKR chief insisted that the party agenda would come first for him, not Malik’s interests.
Johari surely did not lead the councillors’ boycott on his own. He had the mandate from state party leadership.
During the meeting, he fired his salvoes against state legislators for not defending him when he was under attack from Lim’s aides, Jelutong Parliamentarian Jeff Ooi and Komtar assemblyperson Ng Wei Aik.
Although Lim exerted pressure on Zahrain to sack Johari from MPSP, the PKR local leaders were not cowed by it and blasted DAP for trying to be a ‘big bully ala Umno’ in Penang Pakatan.
Indeed one cannot blame Lim for not knowing that his own party grassroots leaders and members have privately abhorred the state government’s political manipulation in rejecting outrightly PKR aspiration to helm MPSP.
“I favour PKR helming MPSP and DAP heading MPPP.
“I don’t understand why the Chief Minister is against it.
“This going to cost Pakatan in long run,” said a DAP legislator from mainland.
DAP arrogance blamed
Some grassroots leaders are also upset with calls made by Ooi and Ng on PKR to sack Johari.
“It’s not in DAP interests to interfere in PKR internal affairs.
“Johari has the right to let out his frustration and express his strong objection on Mokhtar’s appointment.
“But DAP has no right to call for PKR to sack Johari as a councillor,” said a Penang mainland-based DAP branch leader.
The feud between DAP and PKR is not merely confined to Penang.
A PKR leader claimed that DAP arrogance was a main cause for the downfall of Pakatan government in Perak.
In Selangor, he alleged DAP legislators have frequently held Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim for ransom to get things done their way.
He believed the induction of Mansor as DCM 1 would help PKR’s cause in the state administration.
“Mansor is a strong character.
“Malik and Law will have no choice but to back him to carry out PKR’s agenda at the government’s level,” said a party insider.
The party local leaders and members all hope for Zahrain will put aside friendship to discipline Malik to toe the party line.
With that and coupled with Mansor’s timely arrival, PKR believes it can finally put its house in order and take on DAP.
Athi Veranggan, Mkini
