JOHOR BARU – Umno veteran Tan Sri Shahrir Samad’s criticism towards DAP is misguided, said the party’s state chairman, Liew Chin Tong.
“He misfired. Jimmy is not a member of DAP,” the newly elected Iskandar Puteri MP said in a WhatsApp reply to The Vibes.
Liew was commenting on Shahrir’s Facebook posting questioning if Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) request for the state government to consider allowing the coalition’s elected representatives to sit in the District Development Action Committee was a form of provocation (from PH).
The suggestion was made by Johor PKR vice-chief Jimmy Puah Wee Tsee, to ease coordination at the state level, seeing how Barisan Nasional (BN), which still holds a firm grip in the Johor state government, is now part of the unity government led by PH.
“We will write an official letter and I hope the state government, especially Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, will give due consideration to allowing PH assemblymen and lawmakers to sit in the committee,” Jimmy was quoted as saying by Bernama after attending a programme in his constituency in Tebrau, yesterday.
Shahrir described the request as Johor DAP’s subtle effort to prevent BN’s inclusion in the unity government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“Johor DAP is quite treacherous. They don’t seem to favour a unity government and want BN to side with Perikatan Nasional (PN). But they did it ever so subtly.”
Shahrir also took a dig at PH, stressing that BN has enough seats of its own to retain the Johor state government without any issue, after sweeping 42 out of the 56 seats during the state polls in March.
Meanwhile, Liew refused to be drawn into the matter saying that he would not be commenting on Jimmy’s remark until a PH meeting is held in the coming week.
The Vibes has also reached out to Johor PH chairman Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub for comments. – The Vibes, November 27, 2022
