PKR's 'defection drama' backfires

KUALA LUMPUR: For the past week, the rumour mills have been working overtime after it was revealed that three Umno state assemblymen were about to jump ship to PKR.

PKR Perak information chief Zulkifly Ibrahim told a press conference that their names cannot be revealed because negotiations were still ongoing.

Following this, BN's Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir was forced to deny the issue, almost on a daily basis.

However, it seems that PKR's strategy has backfired since it was a state rep from its Pakatan Rakyat partner DAP who threw in the towel Malim Nawar assemblyman Keshvinder Singh yesterday quit DAP and declared himself a Barisan Nasional-friendly independent.

Stop the drama
Following this, a PKR leader told FMT that his party leaders should stop with their so-called psychological warfare which serves no purpose.

It was Opposition Leader and PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim who started the ball rolling shortly after the 2008 general election when he claimed that Pakatan would form government on Sept 16 that year with the help of defections from BN.

Despite the euphoria it generated, the take over plan turned out to be a dud.
The PKR leader, who wished to remain anonymous, said the same strategy was employed in Negeri Sembilan in 2008 and Terengganu in 2009.

“They claimed that a number of Umno state assemblymen will be crossing over. Yes, it caused Umno to panic for a while and that was all the impact it had.

"If there is any basis to the claim that Umno reps will jump ship, then why is there a need to make this public. The matter should be kept under wraps until it actually happens,” he added.
He said this is a case of revealing your plans to the enemy, and allowing the latter to do his level best stop it from happening.

“Simple common sense will tell you this,” he added.
In view of this, the PKR leader said only the party's top leaders should be allowed to make such revelations in future to prevent any further embarassment.

According to him, the “defection drama” staged by Perak PKR has only eroded public confidence, especially among the fence-sitters.

The people, he said, may feel as if Pakatan is trying to make fools out of them by recyling this issue.

Free Malaysia Today
16/06/10

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