CLEAR THE POLICY OF PAKATAN RAKYAT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS, BEFORE MEETING PM

It was announced today that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng from DAP had submitted his request to meet our Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak to discuss the holding of local government elections in Penang.

While I agree with the effort by Lim Guan Eng to consider the implementation of the local government elections in Penang, I would nevertheless state that such an attempt by the Penang state administration to meet our Prime Minister is pre-mature.

Instead, Pakatan Rakyat should firstly re-affirm their policy whether they want local government elections in ALL Pakatan Rakyat’s states or otherwise.

The recent announcement by the Kedah PAS-led state government that they are not interested in such local government elections clearly shows that Pakatan Rakyat is not sincere in implementing the local government elections in ALL Pakatan Rakyat states.

Lim Guan Eng should be reminded that the pledge to hold local government elections was made by Pakatan Rakyat and not just DAP. He should firstly meet up with his superior, the de facto leader of Pakatan Rakyat, Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the stand of Pakatan Rakyat on the local government elections before meeting our Prime Minister.

Thus, the first hurdle for Lim Guan Eng to clear on the implementation of local government elections is not the Prime Minister or the Election Commission. It is the policy of his own Pakatan Rakyat.

If there is no unity in Pakatan Rakyat in holding the local government elections in ALL Pakatan Rakyat’s states, then any effort by Penang DAP leaders to meet our Prime Minister on the matter would be a total waste of time. The implementation of the government elections in ALL Pakatan Rakyat’ states would be doubtful.

Such a pre-mature effort would then be construed as a politically motivated attempt to absolve Pakatan Rakyat from fulfilling their pledge to hold local government elections in ALL Pakatan Rakyat’s states.