Incumbent Padungan state assemblyperson Dominique Ng has quit PKR and announced his decision to stand as an Independent. He did not specify which seat he will contest but hinted that it would either be Padungan or Batu Lintang. Calling this decision a “battle of principles”, Ng (right) said he was forced into this by saboteurs within PKR.“I'm sick and tired of having to keep looking over my (shoulder) to see whether someone is trying to stab (me in the) back. “That is why I have to leave PKR,” he told a hastily organised press conference at his service centre in Kuching.
Asked which is more important - his "battle of principles" or a unified opposition - Ng said there is no unity in the opposition as it stands. "What is the price of unity? The price of unity is sacrificing two incumbents for two candidates with absolutely no chance of winning,” he said.
He said the state polls offered the best chance the opposition has ever had to unseat BN, but the opposition has squandered its chances with its manoeuverings.
"Sadly, what has started very well is now a vain dream. I was driven to a corner and forced to quit," he said, adding that his decision was communicated to Anwar Ibrahim at 10.48am today by text message. The Padungan andBatu Lintang seats were won by PKR andDAP respectively. A complicated seat swap saw Ng and the Batu Lintang incumbent Voon Lee Shan losing a chance to defend their seats.
If Ng chooses to contest in his traditional stomping ground of Padungan, he will face DAP's Wong King Wei but if he contests in Batu Lintang, he will come up against former party colleague See Chee How. In either situation, a three-cornered fight would greatly increase BN's chances of winning because the votes for the opposition would be split.
Stunned by revelation
Ng provided a lenghty narrative of his electoral outings and how he had done better as an Independent in the past than in DAP. He also explained the chain of events that led him to believe that he was a candidate - until the eleventh hour. He said until March 29, he was assured by top party leaders that he would be defending his seat, but plans went awry the following day.
They had instead told him that he would be contesting in Batu Lintang. Despite this being unfamiliar territory, Ng said, he was still willing to answer the party's call. He said he began printing or modifying his election campaign material for Batu Lintang, which he displayed to the press.
"I was prepared to go this far... even a day after, I was assured that I would be contesting," he said.
But everything fell apart on the evening of March 31 when Pakatan state leaders announced the dramatic seat swap between Padungan and Batu Lintang.
Ng said he was stunned with the revelation and chided PKR state chief Baru Bain (left) for not having the courtesy to inform him beforehand - he had to suffer the indignity of learning about the matter through the press.
"The following night, the carpet was pulled from under my feet," he said.
Bird in the bush
Ng confirmed that party leaders had tried to console him by promising that he would be its first choice for the Stampin parliamentary in the future.
"I had two birds already in my hand and they managed to fly away. Now, they are offering me a bird in the bush," Ng said, resorting to a proverb to explain why he treated the promise lightly.
He said sources have informed him that DAP's Voon, who was dropped as Batu Lintang candidate in the seat swap, has also been promised candidacy for the Stampin seat.
"Sad to say, neither of us will get the seat," said Ng, explaining that he was not interested in entering Parliament.
Visibly very bitter with the turn of events, Ng said he has been a fervent torchbearer for PKR and Pakatan Rakyat in Sarawak, but this has been forgotten by DAP and PKR leaders. Claiming he was not acting out of revenge, he said he still subscribed to the principles of PKR and Pakatan Rakyat and wished it well. He quoted a Chinese saying: 'If you are together for too long, you might separate. If you part long enough, you might reunite'.
He also said he has never joined BN and would never join the coalition, adding that he had served his constituents "ceaselessly" and had not let them down.
He warned that history has shown that DAP does not have an advantage in Padungan, a seat it has never won.
After the hour-long press conference, Ng told several journalists in Chinese: "I would rather die standing than live kneeling.”
In an immediate reaction, PKR vice-president Mansor Othman, who was at the Kuching PKR headquarters, said the party was ready to face an additional rival, even if it meant a split in the opposition vote.
"In some cases it may be beneficial, but we do expect it to split the votes... statistics cannot be denied, but it is a game of probabilities and can go either way.
"As a mature party we will face it," Mansor said when asked specifically if Ng could hurt Pakatan's chances if he stood in Padungan or Batu Lintang. He also admitted that Ng's decision, coupled with the breakdown in negotiations with Snap, did not bode well for the coalition's image.
"People may interpret that (the opposition is in disarray) but there are issues in BN too that have not been interpreted that way," he said.
He added that he personally was sorry that Ng, who is a "friend" and "comrade", had decided to cut ties PKR, although the party was yet to receive an official letter of resignation.
"I wish he was more open-minded and (can) keep the party's interest above everything, but I also don't want to comment on his personal decision.
"As a party, we definitely would like (Ng) to reconsider as this is the party of the future and he has a role to play in it."
Asked if PKR would keep the door open for Ng, Mansor skirted the issue and refused to say anything more than: "Depends on where he goes... we will cross the bridge when we come to it."- Andrew Ong & Aidila Razak
source:malaysiakini
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