Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam today sparked another crisis in Selangor by giving a 72-hour ultimatum to Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to sack three officials from the state-owned sand mining company, Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd, for alleged corruption amounting to RM100,000 monthly.
Manikavasagam, who has previously raised the issue of corruption within Khalid’s administration, said he will blow the lid on the issue if his demands are not met — adding pressure to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition which today began campaigning for the May 16 Sibu parliamentary by-election.
“I don’t want to expose things in detail at the moment... wait first. I am asking the mentri besar to remove at least three senior officers from the state sand-mining company,” Manikavasagam said when contacted by The Malaysian Insider.
He also wrote in his blog that he will make public incriminating documents and also send it to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) if the deadline is not met.
His text messages and blog this evening stated: “Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam is giving 72 hours to Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to clean the ‘DIRT’ from within the ranks of the Kumpulan Semesta senior officers who have received too much in bribes.
“If it is true Parti Keadilan Rakyat hates ‘CORRUPTION’ then end this vice immediately. The Selangor Mentri Besar must ‘CLEAN UP’ his own house first.
“Immediate action must be taken by the Selangor Mentri Besar or the Kapar Member of Parliament will ‘EXPOSE’ everything.
“We do not want members of PKR, especially the ‘Central Leadership’ to practise this unhealthy culture. Don’t let a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch,” the message said.
However, Manikavasagam denied he was intentionally causing further complications for PKR, which has so far suffered the loss of four MPs and a state seat following its defeat in Hulu Selangor last month.
Manikavasagam had been rumoured to be on the verge of quitting the party but has personally denied this.
Information gleaned from Kumpulan Semesta’s corporate website states that the company was formed by the PR state government to pioneer the sand-mining and mineral industries. CLICK HERE for more.
I cannot fathom why PKR members love to wash dirty linen in public. Whilst I applaud Manikavasagam's stand on corruption, I question the means by which he is flexing his muscles to get things moving.
Obviously, PKR members have to learn one important lesson :
QUARREL PRIVATELY AND STICK TOGETHER THROUGH THICK AND THIN!!
Learn from Barisan Nasional. Look at how our PM kept SILENT about statements by UMNO members or TDM or Perkasa for that matter. Despite whatever differences, THEY STICK TOGETHER like molasses!
On the contrary, PKR members are the ONLY component party of Pakatan Rakyat who voice their discontent in the most inappropriate manner. Look at Zahrain and Zulkifli Nordin and what they said BEFORE they left PKR and AFTER they left PKR.
We are at the threshold of the Sibu election and this report HERE by Razak Ahmad says that "a strong government win in Sibu could embolden Najib to call for state-wide elections in Sarawak by the end of this year followed soon after by general elections, which do not have to be held until 2013."
A reader aka Nick said this in a comment in my blog today:
PR needs to become smart and they have no time to waste. And they need to clean house too or spring cleaning or whatever to strengthen the party. If PR can last until the next GE..it will be a downhill ride all the way.
For what it is worth, it is absolutely imperative that PKR does a major housekeeping exercise and talk to its members about a code of ethics or guidelines to observe as PKR members/MPs or ADUNs. With all that has happened of late, PKR just CANNOT afford any more dents in its public image.
Do PKR branches hold regular meetings to assess ground support and for troubleshooting purposes or for members to air their grouses?
How often do they meet?
Is there an avenue for the disgruntled to voice their discontent?
Has the PKR head, DSAI, ever issued guidelines as to how members need to address issues from within FIRST before going public? What about disciplinary action? It appears that it uses kid's gloves for some of its members, as can be seen by past trends! And look where it got them? A tangled web of intrigue and deceit spun by self-seeking individuals at the expense of party unity and prestige!
I do not know about you but I am sick and tired of hearing PKR members threatening to reveal this and that or jumping ship and washing dirty linen in public most gloriously for all to see and enemies to clap in glee!
For heaven's sake, do your laundry IN THE PRIVACY of your branch or at the right platform - NOT IN PUBLIC!!!
Please shape up and do not affect the morale of Pakatan Rakyat this way!
Selvi "I cannot fathom why PKR members love to wash dirty linen in public."
Well said. More sadly, it always happens at 'critical' moment!