THIRD TIME UNLUCKY FOR NAJIB

The last 2 times P Pauh held by-election, the PM stood down - PKR's Sim

The last two times Permatang Pauh had a by-election, Malaysia's prime minister stepped down. Will it happen again, PKR asked today, noting that this was what had happened after the by-elections held in 1999 and 2008.

The party's strategy director Sim Tze Tzin said the prime minister had changed twice before, each time not long after the Permatang Pauh by-election.

"After the 1999 by-election, when Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail won the seat the first time, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad made the announcement that he will be stepping down two years later.

"After the 2008 by-election when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim returned to politics and won back his seat, Tun Abdullah Ahamad Badawi stepped down within a year.

"Will the same development follow this by-election? Are Najib's days numbered?" he said at a press conference today at Yayasan Aman this morning.

Dr Wan Azizah contested the seat in 1999 after her husband Anwar was jailed for sodomy and corruption. She vacated the seat in 2008 after Anwar was released to pave the way for his return to politics.

Tze Tzin, who is Bayan Baru MP, also said questions were being asked in Permatang Pauh now about the absence of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's pictures on Barisan Nasional campaign materials.

PKR's Bayan Baru MP and strategy director Sim Tze Tzin.

He asked whether this was also a sign that history would repeat itself, or whether Najib had become a liability or "toxic" to his party, following the many criticisms against his administration, especially by Dr Mahathir.

"Is this an indication that Umno members agree with Dr Mahathir that Najib should go?" he said.

DAP's Permatang Pauh by-election director Steven Sim said there was also news that Dr Mahathir was coming to Penang for a talk at Universiti Sains Malaysia this Thursday.

"We welcome him here and we hope he will explain further about the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal. He has pointed out that only RM14.7 billion of the firm's RM42 billion debts can be traced.

"With BN promising Permatang Pauh folks development, now will be a good time to answer where the funds had gone. The BN candidate for the by-election Suhaimi Sabudin should also answer.

"This is an issue related to development. The money could had been used in our national budget for development, including in Permatang Pauh," the Bukit Mertajam MP said.

Suhaimi is contesting against Dr Wan Azizah, who is PKR president, to win the hottest parliamentary seat in the country, which has been a PKR and Anwar stronghold for decades. - TMI