KUALA LUMPUR – Former DAP Johor chief Dr Boo Cheng Hau has called on the Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council to investigate alleged abuse of power by state party chairman Liew Chin Tong.
Dr Boo said he has issued a letter seeking a probe against Liew over claims that the latter had abused the confidence and supply agreement and memorandum of understanding between PH and the PN- and BN-led state government after purportedly seeking to be appointed as a senator for Johor.
He also claimed that in August this year, Liew – who is a former deputy defence minister – held a series of Zoom meetings in Johor, titled “Dialogues between MPs and grassroots members”.
The meetings, Dr Boo said, were attended by Johor DAP parliamentarians, an MP from another state, and a former minister and deputies, who had “fiercely” attacked opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“It has confused and also destabilised unity among Johor grassroots members by repeatedly going against the PH presidential council’s resolution that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is PH’s only candidate for prime minister,” Dr Boo said in a statement.
“The unusual event confused the grassroots members by causing suspicions and queries among the grassroots members as to the actual underlying reasons and motives for the MPs, former minister and deputy ministers concerned kept going against the decisions by the PH presidential council.”
Dr Boo also claims that based on statements by several Johor PH leaders, Liew had, in early August, misled the Johor PH council into believing he had gained support from BN and PN assemblymen to appoint him as a senator, and that a resolution would be proposed in a state assembly sitting.
However, he said, the resolution was withdrawn after Liew failed to prove that he could garner enough support to ensure the resolution’s passage by the Johor assembly.
He added that the majority of the PH assemblymen were also unaware of the proposed resolution.
“The proposed resolution was also never made known or approved by the DAP Johor Committee. I have raised the issue and questioned Liew Chin Tong in the Johor DAP Committee WhatsApp chat group, and he never denied the incident,” Dr Boo said.
Among other matters, Dr Boo called on the PH leadership to investigate whether there are any “secret deals” between Liew and the PN-BN government led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Dr Boo said the council should also study the reasons behind the defeat of PH in the recent Melaka and Sarawak polls, including assessing whether PH ministers and deputies under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration have disappointed the people.
He also called for the opposition coalition to examine the loyalties of former PH ministers and deputies.
“I welcome any effort by Pakatan Harapan top leadership to investigate my complaint and carry out detailed studies in order to improve Pakatan Harapan’s future performance,” Dr Boo said.
“I would also like to urge a handful of PH leaders not to utilise their own leadership positions for personal gain, including government positions by compromising PH’s political principles in the name of the ‘big picture’.” – The Vibes, December 30, 2021