KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia: A party in Malaysia's ruling coalition called Wednesday for a vote of no confidence against the prime minister, in a serious blow to the beleaguered government.Sabah Progressive Party president Yong Teck Lee demanded major concessions from the government, and said the party would decide on Friday whether to quit the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
He left open the prospect of joining the opposition alliance led by former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, who has ambitions of forming a new administration with the help of defecting government lawmakers.
"We have lost confidence in the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi," he told a press conference.
"Whoever would agree with our issues here, we will work with, inside and outside of Sabah," he added.
Abdullah has been fighting for his political survival since the March general elections that saw the opposition gain unprecedented results, including a third of parliamentary seats and control of five states.
A recent 41 percent petrol price hike, which has triggered widespread outrage and public protests, has made his position even more tenuous.
Yong attacked the Barisan Nasional's record in the impoverished state on Borneo island, saying it had been subject to unfair laws and excessive taxes.
"That is why we need an immediate declaration of no confidence in the PM and the government, to tell the BN government that we can no longer tolerate their insensitive attitude towards the Sabah issues that are real and serious."
"We will be discussing our status to remain in BN at our party headquarters meeting on Friday," he said, listing demands including the diversion of energy revenues coming from the resource-rich state.
"With our political move today, SAPP hereby initiates the political process to claim 20 percent in oil royalties, which is after all the natural resources of Sabah," he said.
"We must make a stand before the window of opportunity closes," he said, raising the prospect of a no-confidence vote when the new parliamentary session opens on Monday.
"Unfair federal laws, excessive taxes and structural imbalances in the economy will remain entrenched. Sabah will remain the poorest state, subservient to the central leadership," he said. - AFP/ac
Channel NewsAsia
18/06/08
There is a difference between UMNO and Barisan Nasional. I want to make it clear that it is not the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, but the UMNO government. It is not the government, but UMNO. Barisan Nasional is a coalition of unequals, not equals. UMNO is the big brother in BN. Therefore UMNO must be held responsible; and more importantly, UMNO must not be allowed to hide behind the BN banner. UMNO is the enemy, not BN.
ReplyDeleteI have come to the conclusion that the easy solution is to completely defeat UMNO in the next elections.
In the 2004 elections (11th General Election), the voters gave good support to Mr.Abdullah Badawi. But reforms did not come. Why? Probably because UMNO had done well in the elections. If UMNO had done well in the elections, then the election results tell UMNO that the voters are satisfied with the status quo. If the voters are satisfied with UMNO, then no reforms are necessary. In the 2008 elections (12th General Elections), UMNO did not do well, but she managed to win. UMNO did lose the 2/3 majority in the Parliament, but she did win, nevertheless. Will UMNO undertake reforms now? I would not be surprised if she did not. Why should she? UMNO is still the winner in the elections; and she can plan to rise and may even succeed to rise again. So, as long as she wins, she will never undertake the reforms. So, how do the voters get the reforms that they need? The voters will get the reforms when UMNO is completely defeated in the 13th General Elections. If UMNO wins zero seats in the next elections (13th General Elections), then some other party would have to rule Malaysia. Let us call it Party B. If UMNO is completely defeated in the next elections (13th General Elections), then Party B would rule Malaysia. Would Party B undertake reforms? If Party B does not undertake reforms, then voters would know what to do.
So, the next step for Malaysians is to completely defeat UMNO in the next elections.