BN says, PPP can pull out from BN because the government will not entertain PPP for ISA review. What Kayveas will do next? Is he brave enough to fulfill his promise?...Looks like "sandiwara" isn't it?....
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/12/12/nation/2786371&sec=nation
Friday December 12, 2008 - The Star
PPP backs Kayveas on ISA
KUALA LUMPUR: The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is standing solidly behind its president Datuk M. Kayveas in asking the Government to amend the Internal Security Act (ISA) before the next general election or it would have “no reason to remain” in Barisan Nasional.
The PPP supreme council, which held an emergency meeting yesterday, voiced its full support for Kayveas, who was not present as he was overseas.
PPP also announced that it had sacked former president S.I. Rajah from the party for meeting the Prime Minister and informing him that PPP would not leave Barisan and calling on Kayveas to step down as president.
Its deputy president Datuk Lee Heng, who chaired the meeting, said Kayveas had urged the Government to amend the ISA following calls from the party’s Wanita and Youth wings recently to abolish the Act altogether.
“The president’s response to that is to meet halfway, that is to ask for an amendment. If there is not even an amendment, then PPP would have no reason to remain in Barisan,” he said at a press conference.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he had no plans to amend the ISA and PPP was free to leave Barisan if it wanted to.
Lee Heng said PPP’s stance was clear that the Government should amend the ISA to prevent it from being used against civilians who posed no security threat.
He said there was still a lot of time before the next general election and the PPP would only cross the bridge when it comes to it.
“We will not give up. We have already seen some changes (in the Government),” he said, citing the upcoming Barisan Nasional convention in February and the Anti-Corruption Commission Bill and the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill that were tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.
Lee Heng said Abdullah never asked PPP to leave Barisan, adding that the Prime Minister’s comment that PPP was free to leave the coalition was merely in response to questions from the media.
Meanwhile, the disciplinary board chairman Datuk Maglin D’ Cruz said Rajah could not appeal against the decision.
He said he had initially thought that Rajah was no longer a PPP member but upon checking found that the former president had rejoined the party in March 2007.
“For him to approach the Prime Minister and say that PPP is not leaving Barisan and for him to ask the party president to step down is a serious matter,” he added.
On Wednesday, Rajah claiming to be an adviser to the party, said he had met the Barisan chairman and secretary-general at Parliament House and gave them the assurance that PPP would not pull out of the coalition.
He called on Kayveas to step down instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment