KUALA LUMPUR – The Melaka government would not have collapsed if Pakatan Harapan (PH) had abided by the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Transformation and Political Stability between the federal government and the opposition, said former state assembly speaker Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh.
Rauf admitted the dissolution of the state government was something that was unexpected as both the government and opposition in Melaka had agreed to comply with the MoU as soon as the latest state assembly meetings concluded.
He said it is “unfortunate” that two of Umno’s own representatives in the state, who had previously held the high posts of chief minister and state party liaison committee chairman, to have created a movement to topple the state government.
“They cooperated with their friends to twist facts and gathered to take over the state government, supported by Pakatan Harapan,” Rauf said.
If PH had respected the agreement that was signed, we (BN) would surely have been able to continue administering the state government.”
Rauf said this during the launch of the Melaka BN election machinery at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur here yesterday evening.
Also present were Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, among others.
Rauf said in the days leading up to the dissolution of the state assembly on October 4, he had noticed behaviour that was “unbecoming” of the opposition, which included providing 100% support for any motion tabled by the Umno-led government.
He said this included the motion to consolidate the teachings of the Sunni Islamic “Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah” (adherence to sunnah and the community) in the state government enactment, which was supported by even DAP without objection.
Rauf said the event occurred during a state assembly meeting on September 24 when he felt something amiss with the behaviour of the opposition, which also supported a motion for a BN representative to attend the meeting virtually.
He said he later learned that former Melaka chief minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron had held meetings with the opposition and was invited to meet with PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Rauf also said Idris, who is Umno’s Sg Udang rep, held meetings with former chief minister and Amanah politician Adly Zahari to collude with DAP and PKR to topple the state government.
“On that same day, SDs (statutory declarations) were openly issued. Naturally, I did not believe that the Sg Udang assemblyman would do that to become chief minister, but he was invited to meet Anwar to convince the latter that he (Idris) had enough numbers.
Anwar had given him (Idris) the instruction to make a public announcement to withdraw support for BN. But on that Saturday, he (Idris) in an interview with Utusan Malaysia said he did not have problems with the leadership of the chief minister.”
Rauf said prior to the dissolution, he, along with Umno Melaka deputy state liaison committee chairman Mohamad Ali Mohamad, had met with Melaka DAP chief Tey Kok Kiew for a “knowledgeable” discussion to defend Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali’s position as Chief Minister.
“He (Tey) has said that is not the problem of DAP, but a problem for Umno,” Ab Rauf said.
“That is why until today, they (DAP) will say that the ones who caused Umno to fall (in Melaka) are those from within Umno. But the Umno government would not have fallen if it were not for the support of Pakatan Harapan, which has its own interests.”
Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional has been slapped with a RM10,000 fine for flouting physical distancing measures during the event.
In a Facebook post late last night, the Health Ministry confirmed that compound was issued by the Klinik Kesihatan Kepong at 8.34pm, yesterday.
The quick response came after netizens following the live coverage of the event chided organisers for not following physcial distancing measures and allowing large crowds to gather during the event. – The Vibes, October 28, 2021
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