Federal-State Relationship

In his interview with Bernama, PM Abdullah Badawi assured Malaysians that all projects planned and approved by the federal government will be implemented. His stand is the right one. His assurance will enable the federal and state governments (especially the five states controlled by the PAS, PKR and DAP alliance) to achieve another first for Malaysia - a cordial and positive working relationship to help propel Malaysia to the next level.

What we need is a little adjustment that there are now strong opposition presence in the 12th parliament session and also at the state level. If politicians from both sides of the house are committed to the well-being of the nation then I do not see a problem for them to respect the verdict of the voters by working together. Election is over and mandate has been given. It is time for us to set aside our differences and work as one nation.

Hence, I would like to advice Mukhriz Mahathir to take his grievance of the PM to the UMNO general assembly and allow the PM to do his work now by forming his new cabinet. Any call or effort to topple the PM will not be beneficial to the democratic process of the nation. In a recent forum, I told the audience that Abdullah was partly unfortunate to have inherited a flawed nation as a result of Dr Mahathir's 22 years rule.

Mukhriz must accept the fact that the accumulated disgust and disapproval of the UMNO leadership was largely a spillover from his dad's administration e.g. the VK Lingam saga, Naval Dockyard petrol vessels, submarines, Port Klang Free Zone and many more. Yes, Abdullah did not do much to deliver the reforms he promised but instead became very arrogant in the last 2 years of his last term but he should not be solely blamed for the heavy defeat of the BN. Dr M, other component parties' leaders, many racist, arrogant and insensitive UMNO leaders are part of the blame too.

Likewise, the PKR-PAS-DAP coalition in Perak should not be too preoccupied over the tussle for power. There is not supposed to be any birthday party or celebration. So, why fight over the cake? The people's mandate given to them cannot be treated as a pawn. It was given to them with a high trust that they will exercise great responsibility and accountability in their governance.

This is certainly a bad start for Malaysians who are ready to welcome a new dawn in Malaysian politics and the arrival of a two party system.