DAP has issued a show cause letter to its Sungai Pelek assemblyman, Ronnie Liu, who claimed that Pakatan Harapan (PH) could form a government without PPBM.
The party’s disciplinary committee chairman, Chong Chieng Jien, said they will wait for Liu to reply before making a decision.
“There is a period of time for Liu to reply. We will let the process run,” Chong, who is also the deputy domestic trade and consumer affairs minister, told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.
Liu had, in a statement, cautioned PPBM chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad against making remarks that were not in line with PH’s values.
He claimed the prime minister was pushing for a dominant Malay-based party to control the coalition, citing the acceptance of former Umno politicians into PPBM.
The DAP veteran criticised Mahathir over the continuation of laws which he called repressive, the decision not to deport controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik to India, and the failure to specify a date to hand over power to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.
Liu said Bersatu, of which Mahathir is chairman, stands to lose the most if the pact broke up over the prime minister’s actions.
The remarks angered Bersatu leaders, with Education Minister Maszlee Malik and Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman hitting out at Liu.
Maszlee said Liu’s remarks were disrespectful and uncalled for, while Syed Saddiq said the party youth wing that he leads will consider DAP a target for open criticism unless action was taken.
On Oct 23, DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke said the statement was Liu’s own personal view, and that Liu had been referred to the party’s disciplinary committee.