BN leaders not surprised by resignation of lawmakers

KUALA LUMPUR: The resignation of four DAP lawmakers in Malacca is the outcome of internal problems and crisis of confidence in the party, say Barisan Nasional leaders.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi believed that DAP’s constant flip-flops on its principles and its leadership’s friendliness with political leaders, who had fought against the party in the past, had put off its supporters.

“We know that banding together in politics through a marriage of convenience never lasts, and the people should understand this,” he said after attending a gathering in Lundu, Sarawak, yesterday.

He said the resignations showed that DAP was only good at “barking” but could not give effective service to the people.

DAP supporters should evaluate the party after what the four politicians said about the leadership yesterday, he added.

MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the resignations showed a serious split in the party.

It is obvious that there is a lot of high-handed politics in DAP, he said.

“This is a wise decision by the four elected representatives and you can see that DAP has lost its direction. When it comes to working with PAS, they claim openly that they are splitting but underneath, they are still working together.

“I don’t think the people can tolerate DAP anymore because they take people for granted,” Liow told reporters in Bentong.

He said that there was political manoeuvring among the party leaders for their own agenda.

“DAP is splitting, not only in Malacca but also in many other states,” he said.

MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the resignations were a result of the party’s long internal revolt.

He said the revolt surfaced when its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and his wife Betty Chew, who was then Malacca DAP Wanita chief, were voted out of the state committee in the 2005 party polls.

The split between Lim and Sim Tong Him was obvious since then.

“The four elected representatives must be very disappointed and have lost hope in the party,” he said, adding that the episode was also a result of Lim’s grudges and his attempt to remove those he disliked.

MIC president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said he would not be surprised if more leaders and members quit DAP.

“They’ve lost confidence with the leadership because they are going against the party’s principles,” he told reporters in Ipoh.

In a statement, MIC Youth chief Sivarraajh Chandran said he believed that more DAP members disagreed with the party’s political alliance with PAS.

He said DAP had deviated from its core principles and was willing to “bed with former enemies to stay in power”.