DAP strategy laid bare by Seremban revelation with Alang Bendahara On the FrontLine

EYE ON POLLS: Invitation to prince is part of a plan also carried out in other states

IT is hard to imagine events which happened in Negri  Sembilan, with its slightly more than a million  population, may have an impact on the country's politics.

But that is exactly what happened on one Saturday night, of Jan 26, when DAP former vice-chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim revealed to the people of Seremban a plan by his former so-called multi-racial party.
That night Tunku Aziz revealed that Negri Sembilan opposition chief Anthony Loke Siew Fok had invited the state's prince, Tunku Zain Muhriz, to join DAP and become the next menteri besar should the opposition win in the upcoming general election.

What seems to be another political attack to the common people was in fact an expose of the DAP's master political strategy.

It revealed the intricacies of DAP's secret plan in bringing in Malays into the Chinese-dominated party for the sole purpose of grabbing power should Pakatan Rakyat win in any states.

To some it may have been an open secret, but the relevation by Tunku Aziz creates some impact especially as he mentioned Loke who is regarded as DAP's master strategist akin to Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Rafizi Ramli.

Political analyst Professor Datin Paduka Ramlah Adam said since the 2008 general election, DAP has seen how its support for Malay leaders in Pakatan Rakyat such as PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Pas president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang has not borne fruit for the party due to the weakening influence of both.

Even in Selangor, DAP has seen its plan "curbed" by PKR Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.
Ramlah, now a fellow in Universiti Malaysia Perlis's Strategic Studies Unit, said realising that, DAP started hatching a secret plan behind the back of its opposition partner to field its Malay politicians in the general election.

"What was revealed in Negri Sembilan by Tunku Abdul Aziz has a far-reaching impact than it just being a localised thing as it seems that DAP knows much about the Malay culture which is why Anthony Loke approached Tunku Zain, as the menteri besar's appointment in the state is intertwined with the state's Adat Perpatih," said Ramlah.

Thus, it will came as no surprise that the same plan that Loke was revealed to have been implemented in Negri Sembilan is also now underway in several other states such as Selangor, Kedah, Perak, Johor and even Pahang.

This became evident when on Feb 9, in a press conference in Penang, Selangor executive council member Ronnie Liu's special assistant Jafrei Nordin announced his resignation from his post and revealed he knew every single plan by Liu and the state DAP to undermine Pas and PKR, including plans to persuade Malay leaders such as prominent lawyer and former PKR strongman Datuk Zaid Ibrahim to contest in the state on the DAP ticket.

DAP knows that based on the state's law a menteri besar must be a Muslim and a Malay.
In the 12th general election in Negri Sembilan, out of the 36 state seats, DAP won 10; PKR, four; and Pas, one, while BN took 21, thus technically if the opposition wins another four seats in the general election, DAP would become the lead faction.

The invitation to the Negri Sembilan prince was made despite sources stating that the sole Pas representative in the state, Mohamad Taufek Abd. Ghani (Paroi), and PKR's Teluk Kemang member of parliament Datuk Kamarul Baharin Abbas, may be slated for the MB's post.

Should there be any objection from its partners, it is wise to note that the opposition alliance of DAP, Pas and PKR -- Pakatan Rakyat -- was never registered with the Registrar of Societies (RoS), unlike the Barisan Nasional coalition.

It is not surprising that this is a fact that Loke knows very well, by virtue of being part of the Pakatan Rakyat pro-tem secretariat, along with Zaid and Pas vice-president Salahuddin Ayub, that had submitted an application to the RoS that is still in a state of limbo after Zaid left.

In fact yesterday, when contacted, RoS registrar, Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman, confirmed that ever since the application was first made in 2009, no one from the Pakatan Rakyat committee had resubmitted another application to formalise the coalition.

To conclude, it would seem that PKR and Pas must now feel as if they are literally sleeping with the enemy when it comes to their relationship with DAP, and this all began with the speech made on that fateful night in Seremban.


Read more: DAP strategy laid bare by Seremban revelation - Columnist - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/dap-strategy-laid-bare-by-seremban-revelation-1.216634?localLinksEnabled=false#ixzz2KeNUhILk