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KOTA KINABALU: An academic has accused Pakatan Harapan of making Warisan his scapegoat for failing to secure a block vote on the budget.
Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah pointed out that Warisan had not been the only party to break ranks with the opposition over the budget.
He was commenting on criticism of Warisan for the absence of his MPs last Monday, when budget estimates for the prime minister’s department and the finance ministry were approved.
Lee agreed with Warisan General Treasurer Terrence Siambun that it made no sense for Warisan to vote as his eight MPs would not make any difference to the vote in the Dewan Rakyat.
“The numbers of votes are generally considered 106, 107 or 108 in favor of the government and 95 in favor of the opposition,” he told the FMT.
“With Perikatan Nasional’s slim two-seat majority, each vote is significant, but previous instances have shown that there were opposition deputies, in addition to Warisan, who did not vote either. The DAP, for example, did not agree to reject the budget at the political stage last Thursday.
“So I think they are trying to make Warisan the scapegoat. “
Warisan Whip, Labuan MP Rozman Isli, recently acknowledged that the absence of Warisan MPs from various budget votes was a deliberate move to show the party’s discontent with PH leader Anwar Ibrahim.
This prompted Sabah PKR Youth’s chief information officer, Razeef Rakimin, to reprimand Rozman for what he described as a childish excuse.
Former Johor DAP chief Dr. Boo Cheng Hau joined the criticism, saying that Warisan deputies had defrauded taxpayers.
But Sabah DAP has come out in defense of Warisan, with his head of publicity Phoong Jin Zhe criticizing Boo for damaging ties between the two sides in the state.
PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil told Warisan to be ready with an explanation if the public asked if he was helping Perikatan Nasional stay in power.
Warisan Vice President Darell Leiking responded by denying that his party was working with PN or Barisan Nasional.
Awang Azman Pawi from Universiti Malaya has commented on the dispute saying that differences of opinion on any political team were a reflection of democracy.
“This diversity of voices must be celebrated to avoid the emergence of a dictatorship or an autocratic leadership system,” he said, adding that there have also been cases of infighting in the PN.
However, Bridget Welsh from the University of Nottingham (Malaysia) said that the opposition should not have washed dirty clothes in public.
“PH Plus needs to learn to keep its differences indoors and not in public,” he said. “It seems childish and erodes the faith of everyone involved. It is self-destructive behavior. “
Lee agreed with Welsh, saying it was not necessary for DAP and PKR to voice their complaints through the media.
