'Appointed reps' idea shows Umno has no non-Malay support - Aziz

GE15 | Perak DAP’s Abdul Aziz Bari has taken aim at Perak BN’s plans to introduce state representatives who are nominated instead of being voted into office.

He said the proposed policy, to appoint assemblypersons from minority groups and from among the youth, was an extension of Umno’s racial politics.

Previously, Perak BN chairperson Saarani Mohamad said they pledged to amend the state constitution so that the state government can appoint assemblypersons.

“There is no need for this amendment. Such a proposal is undemocratic,” Aziz (above) told Malaysiakini, adding that “It’s simple, Umno should just abandon race politics.”

“This is the problem with Umno/BN. They think they can only get Malay support by playing racial politics, and then use these appointments to cover up their lack of support among other races.

“And they try to change the law to accommodate their race-based politics,” said Aziz who served as the Tebing Tinggi assemblyperson.

Meanwhile, Perak DAP chief Nga Kor Ming also criticised the plan, calling it a “backdoor policy”.

He argued that the move would undermine the parliamentary democracy system..

“The most valuable part of democracy is that the people can decide who rules the nation through a ballot in the general election, but now BN is going opposite of this.

“BN previously already abolished the mayor and local government elections. Now they want to amend the state constitution by introducing a ‘backdoor’ policy through their manifesto. This is shocking,” he added.

‘Trying to bend the rules’

Aziz, who is also a former lecturer on constitutional law said Umno simply failed to practice constitutional politics.

“The constitution, both federal and state, have provided enough for the Malay position. Now they are trying to bend the rules to accommodate their wrong way by this proposed amendment,” he added.

He said he did not expect it to be done.

“They need a two-thirds majority to amend (the state Constitution) but Umno can’t even get a simple majority to form the state government.

“They should have done it a long time ago when they had a supermajority. Now when their ship is sinking, they want to do it. Back then, they had more non-Malay support, so the need didn’t arise. What a joke,” said Aziz.

Saarani claimed that the amendment is among Perak BN’s efforts to ensure political stability in the silver state.

“This is like the amendments made to the state Constitution enactment in Sabah where the party that succeeds in forming the state government has the right to appoint six more assemblypersons without going through the election process,” Saarani told reporters after unveiling the BN manifesto on Sunday (Nov 6).

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