DAP national labour bureau chief A Sivanesan said Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir is contradicting Umno’s political philosophy of discouraging its members from resigning as state assemblypersons or members of parliament.

On Monday, Zambry had been reported as saying that the 28 Pakatan Rakyat assemblypersons should resign and recontest an election to test their popularity in Perak.

dap pc on puchong school 050506 a sivanesan An angry Sivanesan told Malaysiakini that Zambry should check his facts before challenging his rivals to resign, as this would have political implications.

According to Sivanesan, a lawyer and Sungkai assemblyperson, the Barisan Nasional government had amended Article 46(6) of the federal constitution to read that, if an elected representative resigns from a state or parliamentary seat, he or she would be barred from contesting an election for five years.

This was prompted by an incident in 1988 when Johor Bahru MP Shahril Abdul Samad resigned from his seat, re-contested it as an Independent and won.

Sivanesan alleged that Zambry does not understand ousted Pakatan menteri besar Mohammad Nizar  Jamaluddin’s stand that, if declared the legitimate head of state on Feb 9 , he would seek the sultan’s consent to dissolve the Perak state assembly and call for fresh elections.

“At no point of time did Nizar call for the resignation of all BN assemblypersons to make way for a snap election,” said Sivanesan.

Budget deficit

Responding to the dare, however, Sivanesan countered that BN assemblypersons should themselves resign en bloc since Zambry has claimed that the coalition could win at least 34 seats in the next state election.

zambry abdul kadir interview 200409 02 Sivanesan said Pakatan held 54 percent of the vote in the last election to BN’s 46 percent, and that Pakatan’s popularity has increased in the state.

He also disputed Zambry’s economic data, describing the figures as unrealistic.

Sivanesan claimed that BN had shown a deficit budget in Perak for three consecutive years: RM15 million (2005), RM25 million (2006) and RM40 million (2007).

However, the Pakatan-led government had managed to reduce the deficit to RM25 million during its 10-month rule through prudent administration, he claimed.

“During the tin mining era, Perak was the richest state in the country but after 52 years of BN rule, it is in third place behind Selangor and Johor,” he added.