The BN’s abuse of the people’s democratic rights will act as the trigger for a backlash against the ruling coalition in the next general election, warns Perak Pakatan Rakyat chief Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.

NONE Nizar ( left ) points to the underdog DAP’s historic win in the Sibu by-elections as indication of the what the effects of the illegal takeover of the Perak state by the BN from Pakatan will be.

The ousted Perak MB said he was surprised to hear from Sibu residents that the deciding factor for the vote swing was the abuse of the democratic process in the BN’s Perak power grab.

According to Nizar, Umno is now going into the Malay rural heartland to justify their takeover of the state by spreading the propaganda that under the Pakatan they are being ruled by the Chinese, and that Umno had taken back what rightfully belongs to the Malays.

The former MB says Umno in doing so is contradicting itself where Najib’s 1Malaysia concept is concerned, and that his deputy’s claim that he is Malay first then Malaysian, further confuses people about the slogan.

The PAS Bukit Gantang MP pointed out that at the same time, Umno’s mouthpiece Perkasa continues to harp on Malay rights and criticises other races whom they claim question Malay rights.

The PAS state deputy commissioner blasted Umno and its component parties like MCA and MIC for being racist, continuing to split Malaysians along ethnic lines to stay in power.

Nizar did not spare the police force either, pointing to former IGP Musa Hassan’s allegations of third party influence in the force as the work of Umno that controls the judiciary, police and the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission.

He added that former High Court judge Gopal Sri Ram’s admission that the judiciary was subject to political inference as reported by Malaysiakini further confirmed that Umno had the final say in all national issues.

Public first, performance now

Nizar was speaking last night at a ceramah cum dinner at Soon Lee Seafood Restaurant in Taiping organised by the DAP Aulong branch, and attended by some 2,000 supporters.

Aulong DAP dinner The function themed ‘Transforming Malaysia - the Road to Putrajaya’  also saw the presence of other Pakatan leaders like party secretary-general cum Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, state party chief Ngeh Koo Ham, party state secretary cum Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming, Aulong assemblyperson Yew Tian Hoe, Pokok Assam assemblyperson Yee Seu Kai and PKR Kuala Sepatang assemblyperson Tai Sing Ng.

NONE When outspoken Nga ( right ) took the stage, he had the crowd roaring with his fiery 20-minute speech hitting out at the BN for its money politics that failed to buy Sibu votes.

“Najib first offered RM3 million for the Sibu votes and then out of desperation topped the amount to RM5 million if  the BN won the seat, but Sibu voters have their self-respect and dignity and don’t easily succumb to the short-term money tricks of  the BN,” he said.    

Lim Guan Eng, meanwhile, repeated his lament over the sorry state of resource-rich Sarawak where after 47 years of BN rule is mired in poverty, blaming the situation on what he named as “two legged crocodiles.

“The historic win in Sibu by DAP has crushed this BN dream (of the state being BN’s fixed deposits) and East Malaysians have woken up from the BN’s hypnotic political slumber, to a new era of thinking of their rights.”

He reminded the coalition of the three steps that will take Pakatan to Putrajaya - recognising and listening to the rakyat as the masters, serving the public efficiently and striving to measure up to their high expectations.

He claimed that Pakatan is enjoying a groundswell of support as the people recognise that the coalition practises financial prudence and ploughs public funds and taxes back to benefit the rakyat.

“We do not put public funds into our pockets and ignore the plight and grievances of the people,” said Lim.