Penang Umno is not too enthusiastic over the recent formation of Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah), an NGO to represent the ‘silent majority’ which is led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

NONE Bukit Mertajam Umno chief Senator Musa Sheikh Fadzir ( left ) said Amanah may not be workable as most of the members are still active members of Barisan Nasional component parties.

He questioned why these individuals do not raise their dissatisfaction or highlight certain issues via proper party channels.

“Why do they have to set up an NGO, it would only confuse the rakyat. People will ask ‘what are these BN leaders doing?’” he queried.

Musa urged these leaders, who may still have government posts, to return to the party to voice out their grievances.

“If they cannot solve their own problems, why are they talking about solving the rakyat’s problems?” he asked reporters in Kubang Semang.

tengku razaleigh speech 110310 02 Musa was referring to the launch of Amanah which took place last month at the Tunku Abdul Rahman memorial park, which was attended by about 300 participants.

During the launch, Razaleigh ( right ), who is Amanah president, unveiled his team who included former MCA president Ong Tee Keat, ex-MIC deputy president S Subramaniam and former culture, arts and tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir as his deputies.

Other deputy presidents are former leaders oinSabah and Sarawak - Tuaran MP Wilfred Bumburing, former PBB leader Bujang Ulis and former Sarawak deputy chief minister Daniel Tajem.

Reveal numbers registered by political parties, EC urged

Meanwhile, Penang BN information chief Dr M Loga Balan has urged the Election Commission (EC) to reveal the numbers registered by all political parties during their voter registration campaigns.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had last week claimed that the state saw a sudden surge of 32,000 voters in just three months (where 6,000 has been dropped from the list due to change of address and death).

He had also alleged that there was a sudden surge in votes in certain areas in Penang within the first quarter of this year, which had exceeded the increase of votes since 2008, or 33 months (two years and nine months).

State exco member and Batu Maung assemblyperson Abdul Malik Abul Kassim also revealed that a staggering 1,400 postal votes had been inserted into his state constituency.

Loga Balan said if the EC were to release the list of new voters, the public can judge for themselves on how the number of voters have increased in certain constituencies.

“Instead of urging the Election Commission to investigate this and that, it would be better to ask the latter to reveal the list of new voters in Penang,” he told the media during the BN’s walkabout in Kubang Semang recently.