KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — The Perak chapter of DAP said today it was willing to partner with fierce rival Umno to create a stable state government.
However, Perak DAP chairman Nga Kor Ming said this was contingent on Umno’s willingness to acknowledge two matters.
“That DAP is magnanimous by putting public prosperity as the main agenda and that allegations of DAP being ‘anti Malay and anti Islam’ are patently false,” he said in a statement.
However, the Perak DAP chief said any co-operation with his party must include Pakatan Harapan partners PKR and Amanah.
Nga then stressed that any cooperation with Umno must be based on the principle of establishing a clean and multiracial government, which he said must be formalised in a written agreement.
DAP would also not compromise on matters of corruption and embezzlement in any administration, he added.
The Perak state government collapsed unexpectedly last week when Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, the deputy president of Bersatu, lost a motion of confidence by 48-10.
The motion came from supposed partner Umno and the votes against Ahmad Faizal were cast by state lawmakers from DAP and the Malay nationalist party, among others.
The rare bipartisan cooperation to oust Ahmad Faizal led to speculation that the two fierce political rivals could collaborate to form a new Perak government that would exclude Bersatu.
This morning, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi met with Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah at Istana Kinta to submit a candidate to replace Ahmad Faizal, who is expected to be Perak Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Saarani Mohamad.
Ahmad Zahid insisted that Saarani commanded majority support among state lawmakers but would not confirm if this included those from Bersatu and PAS.