CM Lim Guan Eng talks about more issues

Looks like Malaysiakini has done a three part series interview with Lim Guan Eng about Penang, about DAP, about Pakatan Rakyat, about Umno and the NEP.

I have been hearing talks about how Guan Eng has been skirting the Pakatan Rakyat tag on the Penang state government for awhile. While many people has started calling Penang the Pakatan Rakyat state, Guan Eng himself still calls it a DAP-PKR state government.

I really wondered why and obviously, Malaysiakini also wondered why. Read it here and decide for yourself.

The excerpt from Malaysiakini here:

We understand that you prefer to call it a DAP-PKR state government rather than a Pakatan Rakyat state government in Penang?

At the moment. Because Pakatan Rakyat has not been formalised.

But elsewhere it has been known as the Pakatan Rakyat state government.

If that is what they want to call it but as I said, Pakatan Rakyat has not been formalised nationally. As the secretary-general (of DAP), I have to abide by that decision.

Does that reflect DAP's fear (of PAS) - that it is still there given the support you have from the Chinese community?

It’s just a question that it has not been formalised.

So the Penang state government is really no different from the one in Perak and Selangor?

When we formed the state government, it was a DAP-PKR joint coalition government. Of course, later we tried to bring in PAS through discussion indirectly ... but since PKR handled all these portfolios, we consider this question is to be decided by PAS and PKR.

So you are saying they will be included as part of the state government?

We want to include them in roles, to play their role in the Penang state government but this is subject to the discussion between PAS and PKR.

Do you think that DAP has somehow still been caught in this fear of the Islamic state when in fact quite a number of Chinese voters have voted for PAS?

They voted for PAS because they wanted to teach Barisan Nasional a lesson and PAS downplayed the question of Islamic state. If that is brought to the fore, it would have been a very different situation. Our role is to ensure that wouldn’t occur again.

Your fear is still there?

The people’s fear rather than our fear. We have to articulate their concerns. I think for instance Perak Menteri Besar (Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin) has done very well, in terms of taking a moderate approach but we want to see that reflected at the national level. Unfortunately, there are one or two statements from top PAS leaders which are not in accordance to the spirit that is agreed upon - that Pakatan Rakyat is not about Islamic state, now or in the future.

(Therefore, Pakatan) must be formalised so there is no discordant voices.

So, there you have it. You can read more of the Q & A on Malaysiakini.

Whether it is Pakatan Rakyat or DAP or PKR, I do not really care. As long as it is not the corrupted idiots of BN fellas, it is good enough!