Wednesday, May 6, 2009

What matters to Zambry is not where he sits, but that he is MB

IPOH, May 6 – With the Perak assembly speaker V. Sivakumar expected to deny Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Kadir his seat tomorrow, the Barisan Nasional (BN) mentri besar said today he does not mind if he is seated in the opposition benches.

“Doesn’t matter, I have been saying this repeatedly, we don’t want to quarrel on petty things,” said Zambry at a press conference.

“What matters most is the numbers,” he added, emphasising the fact that he commands the support of the majority of the state lawmakers.

Both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional have 28 assemblymen but BN has three independent supporters.

Zambry refused to respond to the remarks made today by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who said the Sultan had no power to remove the mentri besar, in reference to the events in early February when Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin was asked to step down by the Perak ruler after three PR lawmakers resigned from the party.

“That is Tun Mahathir’s view. I think it is premature for me to comment,” said Zambry.

On the motion to remove the speaker, he hoped that the PR-appointed speaker would respect the rules.

“The speaker understands our wishes. I hope everything will proceed accordingly,” he said.

Zambry also said that the state DAP chief Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham, who yesterday maintained that the suspension of seven BN lawmakers is still valid, has no right to question his status at the assembly.

“He was the spokesman for the mentri besar previously, and today he is the spokesman for the speaker, so I don’t know who will not let me in. He was talking as if he is the speaker,” he said. - MalaysianInsider

No comments: