When you thought the excitement has died down after the 12th General Election which saw the ruling government reduced to merely simple-majority-government, it appears the thrill has just begun. After successfully captured another four states (Penang, Selangor, Perak and Kedah) plus the administrative hub of Federal Territory in addition to retaining one state (Kelantan), it’s time for opposition parties to divide the spoils. While the ruling government lead by Abdullah Badawi has not really recovers from their after-shock defeat, the opposition parties are having problems forming coalition government in Perak.

DAP (Democratic Action Party) which won the most seats in the Perak state legislature election, rejected the Sultan’s appointment of Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin from the conservative PAS (Pan Islamic Party) as the state chief minister when DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang said late Wednesday that the party would boycott the swearing-in ceremony though he later backed down and apologized. And now you have PKR cried foul over the allocation of state government posts.
Such inconsistencies have given ammunition to government controlled-media to launch attacks on DAP-PKR-PAS coalition parties whether they could actually rule the newly acquired states efficiently. Lim Kit Siang was bombarded by criticism judging by hundreds of comments left in his blog with other bloggers called him childish and so on. But really, with his decades of experience since 1969 do you really think he was senile or crazy enough to make that disastrous statement? If you want to know the actual reason, just read what one of the Gerakan politicians said. It was all about “staging a show” to pacify the Chinese voters that Lim tried but fails to prevent a PAS candidate from being made the chief minister – period.

As usual the MCA, one of the component parties of National Front, through the brother of its President Ong Ka Chuan has started to slander DAP that voters feel cheated as by having a chief minister (Menteri Besar) from PAS it creates fear among non-Muslims. So the picture is much clearer now why Lim Kit Siang has to do what was necessary. If you think this Ong Ka Chuan is playing racist cards, wait till you hear it from none other than the Prime Minister himself.

Prime Minister warned Lim Guan Eng (opposition DAP who formed the government in Penang) that he was stoking racial tension over the issue of dismantling the New Economy Policy (NEP) in the island state. Lim retaliated today when he slammed Abdullah for seeking to provoke racial tensions with his allegations. Malaysiakini has the full version.

““I said we will have an open-tender system (in Penang). What’s the problem with that? Unless Abdullah doesn’t like open tenders but corruption, cronyism and inefficiency … I don’t understand what has it (abolishing the NEP) got to do with marginalising the Malay or the Indian community” said Lim Guan Eng.

The Penang CM argued that the NEP was a source of corruption, citing the example of the unequal distribution of wealth, including shares which were ‘swallowed up’ by a few selected individuals. In a sarcastic tone, Lim said the premier’s criticism could have been linked to his revelation yesterday that the RM25 billion project of the Penang Global City Centre (PGCC) had yet been approved by the local authorities. Lim suggested that the prime minister might be provoked by Utusan Malaysia, a Malay daily newspaper.

The latest disturbing and open-war occurred when Abdullah’s UMNO representatives in Penang who are now the opposition threatens to pull out every single mega project including the Rapid bus transportation facility in Penang. With obvious threatening tone, the UMNO said since the voters voted the opposition it only goes to show the people are anti-development and (they should be punished) by pulling out all the mega projects initiated pre-election. I think it’s very irresponsible on the part of Federal government to replay this game of “You’re either with me or against me” when the people has spoke out against corruption and escalating cost of living through the ballot-box.

Anyway, I hope you didn’t jump into the stocks of those companies that relied heavily on Penang’s mega-project, did you? The tension between the Federal and state government is expected to escalate further and we’re talking only about Penang state alone mind you. Wait till you hear how Kedah, Perak and Selangor opposition states starts their face-to-face confrontation with the federal government, that’s if Abdullah Badawi can survives beyond his own UMNO election in Aug 2008.

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Stocks to remain volatile, political landscape is instable
• General Election’s effect on local Stock Market
• BN lost 5 states and two third Majority – Badawi resigns?

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March 13th, 2008 by financetwitter

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