I am sure many of you would have guessed who are the two lucky ones who are going on the trip. Yes! You are right! They are none other than former PKR lawmakers Bayan Baru MP Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim and Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Noordin. Information Minsiter Datuk Seri Rais Yatim and Malaysian ambassador to the US, Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis will also be in the team. Rais is deputising for Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman.
They will be in Washington as part of the Malaysia-United States Caucus to be launched by the PM next Wednesday. The prime minister is scheduled to meet US President Barack Obama at the sidelines of a nuclear non-proliferation convention while in Washington.
Such a move shows that our PM is taking a very cautious move as he experienced the near-defeat of the Budget 2010 proposals last December in the Dewan Rakyat where BN holds a simple majority of 137 MPs over Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) 78 lawmakers.
Apparently, some were initially on the Washington trip but have been instructed to stay back and attend Parliament daily. Interestingly, due to strong BN attendance in Parliament yesterday, the BN defeated a surprise PR motion to refer Pasir Salak MP Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman to the Rights and Privileges Committee after he claimed DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had sold state secrets to Singapore.
In a twist, BN used its superior numbers to refer Pokok Sena MP Datuk Mahfuz Omar to the same committee for linking Umno to the government’s public relations consultancy APCO — which PR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had linked to a former Israeli regime.
According to The Malaysian Insider, "the highly-charged parliamentary sitting has forced BN to ensure that all its MPs, including veterans such as former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, turn up for crucial votes to approve all government bills and supplementary supply bills."
This morning, thestar announced today that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election will be contested by the MIC because the seat belonged to the party.
Excerpt from the report:
However, he said that as Barisan Nasional chairman, he retained the right to decide who the candidate should be “because I want the coalition to win.”
He said camaraderie among Barisan component parties was upheld in determining which party should contest the by-election on April 25, adding that Umno, MCA, Gerakan, PPP and other Barisan component parties would give their full backing to the chosen candidate.
“If we lose, it’s not the MIC that loses but the Barisan. If we win, both the MIC and Barisan win,’’ the Prime Minister told the Selangor Barisan Nasional convention here yesterday....
“As chairman of Selangor BN and the Selangor Umno liaison committee, I have to ensure that the Barisan wins in Hulu Selangor,” he declared.
Najib said he believed the rejection of the Barisan in Selangor at the 2008 general election was only temporary .
“It was not that the people preferred the Opposition but they wanted the Barisan to change,’’ he said adding that the Hulu Selangor by-election provided a platform for Barisan to regain its position in the state.
Clearly, the outlook is more exciting for all parties concerned as our PM means serious business. So what will happen next? Your guess is as good as mine.
Do leave a comment to share your thoughts/views. Thanks. As always, here's wishing you a wonderful day!
Kenneth Surprising?
Not the least! Didn't you hear Najib saying "Zulkifli Nordin is a principled man now"?