By Jaynne Koh
KUALA LUMPUR: Several opposition Members of Parliament ripped apart Bayan Baru parliamentarian Mohd Zahrain Hashim’s ‘attack’ on Pakatan Rakyat de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Zahrain (photo), the independent MP, had shocked Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday when he ‘revealed Anwar’s secrets’ in parliament.
He said Anwar had claimed he had enough numbers to form a government, and that he had the support of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and military to form the government.
PKR Strategist Tian Chua, who is also Batu MP, said: "I do not know where he has got such details from, I have never heard of it.
“The other question is, why is he making this an issue? If we have enough numbers of Barisan Nasional MPs coming to join Pakatan, of course we will be chosen by the Agong to form a government,” Chua said, speaking to FMT.
Zahrain, the former Penang PKR chairman, said he left the party and Pakatan as Anwar failed to overthrow the government through crossover of BN MPs by Sept 16, 2008 as promised.
“Since he left the party when the party failed to gain powers, it shows that he has no principle and no intention to fight as a politician. He just wants to stay in power,” Tian Chua said.
A blatant lie
Another PKR member Azan Ismail, MP for Indera Mahkota, accused Zahrain of being a liar.
“What he (Zahrain) said is not true, it is a blatant lie,” he said.
Referring to Zahrain’s remark that Anwar had claimed that Agong was waiting in the palace to verify the numbers of BN MPs who jumped ship to join the opposition, Azan said: “How could he say that Agong is ‘waiting’ to verify the numbers?
“In the first place, the Agong is not in a position to make the decision, he must act on advice of the Prime Minister. As for forming a government, we as a political component do have the right to talk about it.
“If a party has the majority number, the party can form a government, in accordance to the federal constitution," he said.
DAP's Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming said it was “crystal-clear that Zahrain is a mouthpiece of Umno.”
“He is being used to launch a smear campaign against Pakatan. His so-called claims are baseless.
“As we can see, Zahrain is getting a prominent place in the press like Utusan Malaysia and New Straits Times," he said.
