PM CANNOT COMPREHEND NORTHERN STATE SPEAKER'S ACTIONS

BY MOHD NASIR BIN YUSOFF

JAKARTA, March 3 (Bernama) - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
said northern state of Perak State Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar was
deliberately choosing to take controversial actions in the latest developments
concerning the state's legislature.

The Prime Minister said he could not comprehend why Sivakumar could not wait
for the court to make its decision on matters before it concerning the Perak
State Assembly.

Perak Chief Minister Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six state executive
councillors (excos) earlier Monday had filed an application in the Ipoh High
Court to get a court order to nullify Sivakumar's decision in suspending them
from attending the assembly's sittings for 18 and 12 months respectively.

"I don't understand why anyone should resort to doing something that is
causing controversy. There're so many other problems that we have. He should
wait until the court makes a decision on this. That's the best thing to do.
Have some patience," he said when answering questions on the matter at his press
conference with the Malaysian media here Monday.

According to Abdullah, Sivakumar's decisions to suspend Zambry and the six
excos who were lawfully appointed by the Ruler of Perak and calling for an
emergency meeting of the assembly Tuesday were not right.

On the government's U-Turn on toll hikes, which had been made an issue and
accusations of flip flopping by the opposition, the Prime Minister said if the
hikes had been allowed to take effect, the opposition would still make noise.

"Now that they have no chance of making noise, they will say the government
is flip flopping," he said, stressing that the government made decisions
depending on the prevailing conditions and if a decision was seen as not a
appropriate, it was not an issue if the government changed it.

He explained that when the analysis was made and considered to raise toll
rates, the economic situation was not as bad as it was now and at the time, it
was also not thought a second economic stimulus package was necessary.

"In such a situation and with a second stimulus package to be issued with
the intention of helping the people, obviously the decision to hike the toll
rates is not in sync," he said.

If the government made an inappropriate decision and then reversed it for
the benefit of the people, it has nothing to do with accusations of flip flop,
he stressed.

"Forget all about this flip flop thing. If we have to do it, we do it, if we
don't have to we don't," he added.
-- BERNAMA