KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 (AP) - (Kyodo)—(EDS: ADDING COMMENTS FROM MINISTER, COALITION PARTNERS)
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will face an unprecedented vote of no-confidence in Parliament next week, a small party in his ruling coalition said Wednesday, marking a major revolt that could force Abdullah to resign.
The Sabah Progressive Party, or SAPP, a provincial party based in Sabah State in northern Borneo that has been agitating for more autonomy for the state, also threatened to leave Abdullah's 14-party National Front coalition.
SAPP said in a statement the party's two members in Parliament would support a vote of no-confidence against Abdullah that would be tabled Monday.
The motion would be the first in Malaysian history.
But Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Samad said it was "between nil to impossible" for the motion to be tabled, at least not by next week, due to procedural issues.
SAPP accused the federal government of neglecting oil-rich but impoverished Sabah.
It has demanded among others that oil royalties given to the state be increased to 20 percent from 5 percent.
The party also criticized Abdullah's recent move to hike retail petrol prices by 41 percent.
"This is why we need an immediate declaration of no-confidence in the PM and the government to tell the Barisan Nasional federal government that we can no longer tolerate their insensitive attitude towards the Sabah issues that are real and serious," SAPP said.
"With our political move today, SAPP hereby initiates the political process to claim 20 percent in oil royalties, which is after all the natural resource of Sabah. With that extra billions, we can invest in agriculture, education, capacity-building and achieve self-sufficiency in many things. We can therefore insulate ourselves from the external shocks or economic tsunami," it added.
SAPP is applying the pressure now knowing Abdullah is at his weakest following the March 8 election in which the National Front's traditional two-thirds grip on the Parliament was broken for the first time in more than 50 years.
The opposition won a record 82 seats against the coalition's 140 and the National Front lost control of five states to the opposition.
SAPP's move is seen as the opening step to departing the National Front.
SAPP President Yong Teck Lee has threatened to leave on several occasions, although he left his options open about whether to join the opposition or be an independent party outside the National Front.
The party said in a statement it would decide its future in the coalition Friday when the party leadership meets.
With only two parliamentary lawmakers, departure would not break National Front rule, but the fear is it would trigger others to leave as well.
De facto opposition head Anwar Ibrahim has made no secret of his intention to topple Abdullah's government and has said publicly he has been courting coalition lawmakers, especially from Sabah, to jump ship.
Anwar needs, however, more than 30 new allies to unseat Abdullah who, in a move to appease Sabah, recently announced a 1 billion ringgit ($309.3 million) special allocation for rural development projects in the state.
He has also vowed to tackle the contentious issue of illegal immigrants from the Philippines and Indonesia, which the locals complain contribute to rising crimes and other social ills.
In a statement, Anwar congratulated SAPP for "firm bravery" in "defending the rights of Malaysians and especially those of Sabahans."
He confirmed he has had two discussions with Yong on "good governance and dedication to the principles of accountability."
"I am happy with these early actions and call upon other friends to act quickly in order to guarantee stable politics and efficient economic management that will lead to dynamic growth and equitable distribution," Anwar said.
Shahrir, however, does not believe an exodus will ensue.
"I don't think this will be able to precipitate a situation for other BN members to leave. I don't think they have the leadership," he said.
BN is the acronym for the National Front.
He was also confident Abdullah would survive the threats.
As for the no-confidence motion, he said Parliament requires 14-day notice of filing, but no notice has yet been given.
An urgent motion can be tabled with requires the Speaker's approval, but that is rarely given.
Meanwhile, Stephen Rundi, the Sarawak State secretary general of BN, said all 30 lawmakers from the state support Abdullah.
"We will keep our promise. We are solidly behind the PM," he said.
Other BN component parties such as the Malaysia Chinese Association and the Malaysian Indian Congress have also vowed to stay loyal.
AP
Breitbart
19/06/08
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