Shamsul: Hadi’s bill a tactical election ploy
PKR man says BN covering up 1MDB scandal after foreign reports about Jho Low and shutdown of BSI Bank.
(FMT) – Barisan Nasional and the Federal Government were accused today of using the private member’s bill proposed by PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang as a tactical election move to divert attention from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) affair.
PKR vice-president Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin questioned if Hadi, Islam, the Shariah courts and leaders of BN component parties had been made use of for tactical purposes.
In a statement today, he described the bill as a “By-Election Bill”, questioning if there had been a deal negotiated between BN and PAS to make way for PAS to win in Kuala Kangsar.
Two by-elections are being held on June 18, in Sungai Besar, Selangor, and Kuala Kangsar, Perak, to fill the seats of MPs who died in a helicopter crash in Sarawak in May.
Shamsul said the 1MDB issue had been heightened after Swiss authorities ordered the shutdown of BSI Bank for its involvement in accounts relating to 1MDB, an investment company owned by the Finance Ministry.
Foreign banking authorities had also stated that Penang-born businessman Jho Low (Low Taek Jho) was the sole shareholder and owner of Good Star Pte Ltd, which has been accused of receiving funds diverted from 1MDB, and that Good Star was not a subsidiary of 1MDB’s former joint venture partner PetroSaudi, as claimed by the Federal Government.
Shamsul accused the Prime Minister, Najib Razak, of deliberately choosing to disrespect and humiliate key component party leaders of Barisan Nasional in allowing Hadi’s bill to be tabled for debate in the Dewan Rakyat.
He said the move went against consensus among BN partners to respect unity in the coalition.
Non-Muslim Barisan Nasional leaders have objected to the bill and threatened to resign should the bill be approved. The bill seeks parliamentary approval for amending federal law so that Kelantan’s Shariah courts may impose Islamic criminal penalties, including lashing for adultery, under state law.
