Date to table motion not fixed, says Zahid
KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has remained coy over when the motion for the redelineation of electoral borders will be tabled in Parliament.
Zahid said as the chief whip, he would need to refer to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Dewan Rakyat speaker for a suitable date to table the motion.
“The date has not yet been fixed as there is the debate on the royal address. After that, there are answers from ministers, followed by the tabling of new acts.
“As the chief whip, I will dicsuss the matter with the Parliament Council head first, which is the prime minister, as well as the speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, on when the motion will be tabled.”
He was speaking after officiating the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation’s (MCPF) 25th annual general meeting at the Royal Malaysian Police College in Cheras here yesterday .
Present were Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim and MCPF senior vice-chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
The motion on the redelineation of electoral borders is awaited by all sides as it will likely herald the dissolution of Parliament and pave the way for the 14th General Election.
The Election Commission (EC) has submitted its final report on the matter to the prime minister on Friday.
The review was interrupted for more than a year after it was challenged in court, with 15 cases filed by several quarters in Perak, Selangor and Melaka.
On another development, Zahid said the people must be smart in assessing the opposition, which appeared inconsistent in its election manifesto, especially on the Goods and Services Tax.
“Previously, they had rejected the GST. But once, they realised that it was an important element of the national economy, they included it (in their manifesto). They are consistently inconsistent.
“Their leaders flip-flop on opinions and decisions.
“I hope people can judge wisely and reject them (the opposition) when casting their vote in the election.”
Zahid stressed that he did not play any role in Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM)’s crisis, where it faces being deregistered by the Registry of Societies (RoS) if it fails to submit its minutes of meetings of branches, divisions and at central levels, as well as its financial statements.
“PPBM should fulfil the conditions as required by the party’s constitution and based on the Societies Act 1966.
“RoS is acting based on PPBM’s constitution for the sake of the party and members.”