Ahmad Faizal will not be punished over his negative remarks on DAP

 

Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu gained headlines recently as a video clip of him criticising DAP leaders went viral.

 

In the over six-minute long video, the Menteri Besar of Perak was heard using the phrase ‘puak-puak DAP’ (factions from DAP) on his party allies in Pakatan Harapan (PH). The term ‘puak DAP’ was often used by the opposition to label the component party of PH, which sounds derogatory.

 

In addition, Ahmad Faizal said he has been waging a solo war against DAP in Perak, expressing his hope of protecting the Malay lands and championing Islam in the state.

 

 

In the Perak State Legislative Assembly, Pakatan Harapan has a simple majority of 30 out of the 59 seats. Out of the 30 seats, DAP has the majority of 18 seats, followed by PKR, Amanah and Bersatu. PKR and Amanah have six and four seats respectively, while Bersatu has the least number of state seats, with only two.

 

Despite DAP having the dominating number in the state assembly, Bersatu’s Ahmad Faizal (Chenderiang) was appointed as the state Menteri Besar. The other Bersatu assemblyman is Zainol Fadzi Paharudin (Sungai Manik).

 

The video was recorded during Ahmad Faizal’s visit to Tanjung Piai, he was campaigning for the upcoming by-election. Bersatu’s candidate Karmain Sardini was also present in the video, but he was quiet most of the time.

 

 

Following the incident, Perak PKR chief Farhash Wafa, who is also a political secretary to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, urged Ahmad Faizal to resign from his Menteri Besar position.

 

Farhash gained fame earlier in July when he was arrested by the police to assist with the investigation of several alleged sex videos of PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali. Then, he became infamous in the media.

 

Farhash was wanted by the authorities for being one of the suspects of a brawl which happened on Merdeka night. Moreover, the Perak PKR chief supported former UMNO member Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak’s application to join PKR, stating that the former Chief Minister of Sabah will be a good addition to the party.

 

On the other hand, Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq expressed his hope for Ahmad Faizal’s ‘puak-puak DAP’ issue to be resolved peacefully. Earlier, the Youth and Sports Minister threatened to criticize DAP leaders as a response to Ronnie Liu’s criticisms of Bersatu.

 

 

Previously, through an article, Liu wrote that Pakatan Harapan could retain power as the government even without Bersatu. He further criticized Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for not fulfilling PH’s pledges for GE-14.

 

However, DAP Disciplinary Committee accepted Liu’s lengthy clarification over his remarks, but no further details on the explanation was reported. Meanwhile, Bersatu declared that no disciplinary action will be taken against Ahmad Faizal.

 

Zero disciplinary action taken against Ahmad Faizal and Ronnie Liu indicates that there might be an internal clash between Bersatu and DAP. The parties are protecting their members over protecting the ties between them.

 

Disciplinary action could serve as a warning to other party members to not attack allied parties and as an act of apology, but it didn’t happen. In Liu’s case, the article might not even be written by him personally, but by the DAP machinery. If that is the case, Liu is just a scapegoat in the controversy.

 

Besides that, Farhash’s harsh words on Ahmad Faizal show that PKR, specifically from Anwar’s camp, is becoming more open in their attacks on Bersatu, at the same time sending a message to DAP that they have the support of Anwar’s camp in PKR.