Outspoken PKR secretary-general Salehuddin Hashim appears to be not so optimistic about the two-party system which has been touted by his Pakatan Rakyat colleagues.

In his speech at the ‘Pakatan Rakyat and the Making of Two-party System’ symposium in Kuala Lumpur today, the former corporate figure said that the concept will find it hard to see the light of day because state rights are not being respected by Putrajaya.

“What bloody state rights? In this country, the federal government decides whether you have a good day or not a good day,” said Salehuddin.

dap forum on parliament sexual remarks 180507 salehuddin hashim For example, he said, the states are essentially tied to the National Land Council, which shackles the freedom of the state governments .

“In Perak, for instance, it was hit hard because of this. Land is a state right but (because of this council) it can’t do what it wishes to do.

“Honestly, there is no ‘federation’ in this country. However, I’m not complaining and I’m of those who believe in Malaysia being a unitary state,” he added.

Salehuddin said Pakatan should “do away with this state nonsense” by amending the federal constitution.

“If Pakatan ever takes over Putrajaya, we should change the constitution. We should abolish this nonsense... once you can really take care of the state administration, the costs will definitely go down,” he said.

Sabah and Sarawak forgotten

Salehuddin also lamented that the country lacks national integration where Sabah and Sarawak are being left out in the cold.

“I feel sorry for Sabah and Sarawak in terms of national integration. Do you know that these states are not actually states in Malaysia? They did not join the (other)11 states.

“They came in via the federation of Malaysia (with) agreements. So you cannot put them on the same level like (the other states in the peninsular).

“It pains my heart to see that people who are living longer than me are being sidelined by state government, and here you have people talking about state rights. Two-party system? Dream on,” he exclaimed.

According to him, the country cannot have a two-party system where the rights of “one tribe” supercedes all others.

“The challenge is for Pakatan to move forward, not just as the new colonialists in Sabah or Sarawak, but to change the constitution so that one day this country will be a unitary government,” he said.

Is there a choice?

Earlier, PKR vice-president R Sivarasa suggested that the idea of two-party system must go beyond what we have today.

NONE According to him, voters in the United States have little choice but to pick either the Democrats or Republicans.

“People have been saying, what is the difference between these two? In Germany, they have moved beyond this by having more political parties (to govern together).”

He argued that the two-party system would help create more options for the people.

Meanwhile, PAS leader and Kelantan state executive councillor Husam Musa argued the need for Pakatan to strengthen itself.

“We need to go for a two-coalition system because Barisan Nasional became strong because of its coalition members. That is why we need a similar coalition to replace it,” he said.

kuala terengganu by election 160109 husam musa He mentioned one compelling reason as to why Pakatan should be more cohesive.

“Malays think that Umno is the only party that can save them. At the same time, they have this stigma - they think DAP is anti-Islam and anti-Malay.

“They also think there is a rift within PKR, and the non-Malay voters are scared of PAS, which they think is pushing ahead with the Islamic state (agenda).

“That is why we need a strong coalition to rise up against BN,” said Husam.