'Stop BN from gaining two-thirds in the House'

SIBU: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has appealed to Sibu voters to help reinforce Pakatan Rakyat's strength in Parliament following the loss of yet another PKR MP.
Yesterday, PKR's Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong announced his resignation from the party, citing his frustration over the little Napoleons in the PKR. He has declared himself an independent.

Lim said with Wee’s departure, Barisan Nasional was now getting closer in its obsessive pursuit of the two-thirds majority.

“All BN needs is four more seats to get their desired two-third majority.
"I appeal to Sibu voters not to allow this. Give us another MP and help increase our representation in Parliament.

“We must not give them (BN) this seat... so please vote for a principled politician and not for commercial politics.
“Vote for DAP candidate Wong Ho Leng,” he told an enthusiastic 3,000-strong crowd in Rejang Park last night.

Wee became the latest PKR member to defect from the party although it has been speculated for months that he will be leaving.

During the height of the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign,neurosurgeon-cum division treasurer Halili Rahmat quit the party after he was not offered to contest in the seat.
Before that, Kedah assemblyman Tan Wei Shu resigned.
Last August, Lunas state assemblyman Mohammad Radzhi Salleh quit PKR to become an independent.

Kulim–Bandar Baharu parliamentarian Zulkifli Nordin has also become an independent after being sacked by the party for misconduct.
The Pakatan Rakyat coalition of PAS, DAP and PKR swept to power in five states in the historic 2008 general election.

But two years on, at least 11 PKR elected reps at federal and state levels have jumped ship, some declaring their independence , and others calling themselves "BN-friendly".
PAS and DAP, however, have remained stoic in the face of such adversity, pledging their full support to PKR and its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

15/05/10