Despite newly-reappointed Federal Opposition leader and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s pledge to recommit to a Pakatan Rakyat shadow cabinet in Parliament, PR partner party DAP has gone ahead and unveiled a shadow cabinet of its very own … and it’s mostly because of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.
DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guang Eng said any move by the broader Pakatan coalition to form a shadow cabinet would likely be shot down by Hadi, with whom the DAP currently has a contentious relationship.
“There is no Pakatan shadow Cabinet, since we cannot come up with a consensus,” he said at a press conference outside Parliament today, as quoted by The Malay Mail‘s Shazwan Mustafa Kamal.
“Previous efforts by PR to set up parliamentary ministerial committees co-chaired by an MP from each side of the party have been met with limited success.”
DAP’s own shadow cabinet lists Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua as holding the Finance and Economy portfolio; Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo handling Home and Law; Serdang MP Dr Ong Kian Ming holding the Health and Environment portfolio; and Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari in charge of Education, Science and Technology.
“Each portfolio is led by an MP who is already known for his or her expertise and commitment in the area, a spokesperson, and he or she is supported by one to four deputies, depending on the portfolio,” Lim said.
The announcement will likely make things more difficult for Opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah to rebuild consensus within the fractured Pakatan ranks, after DAP and PAS had a falling out over the Islamist party’s push for hudud law in Kelantan, a state that has been under PAS control for the past 25 years.
Lim asserted that despite the party-centric shadow cabinet, DAP would continue to work together with its Pakatan partner PKR – but not with PAS.
“Because of the hudud issue, there is no consultation whatsoever and when there is no consultation on hudud, we have no confidence there will be consultation on issues of national importance,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of a Pakatan shadow cabinet, Lim replied, “I don’t think it can be possible at this moment, if you want to talk about any decision on portfolios, I think at the moment, it can only be done at the party level.
“At the Pakatan level, the PR leadership is no longer functioning after all the decision has been made months ago and that decisions still stand.”
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