SEREMBAN: A certain Barisan Nasional leader should not wait for the Prime Minister to remove him from the Cabinet but should show the courage of his convictions and step down if he believes forming an electoral pact with Perikatan Nasional was justified, says Amanah vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar.
He said the unity government was formed on the basis of mutual understanding, trust and shared responsibility but Barisan has chosen to cooperate with parties that opposed the unity government.
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"This naturally raises questions about its true commitment to the spirit of cooperation at the federal level.
"In our culture, if one has chosen the house next door, he should not keep the keys to the house that he left behind," he said in a statement on Wednesday (July 22).
Mahfuz said the same applies in politics, where it was inappropriate to enjoy positions within the unity government by day, only to cooperate with factions campaigning to undermine that very same government at night.
Prior to this, Pakatan Youth had urged Barisan ministers and deputy ministers to resign following their cooperation with Perikatan in the Johor and Negri Sembilan elections.
Separately, he said a statement by state Barisan chief Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan that he was prepared to resign from his ministerial position if directed by the prime minister raises an even bigger question.
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"The question is not whether the prime minister will issue the directive or not.
"The question is, why wait for a directive if your own principles dictate that the cooperation is no longer being respected?" he asked.
Mahfuz said this had nothing to do with anger or revenge, but was a matter of political integrity.
He said if Barisan truly believed its actions were right, then it should prove it with the courage to decide on staying or quitting on its own.
"Do not place the entire moral burden on the prime minister's shoulders," he said.
