DAP not a democratic party, says Shafie Apdal
UPDATED @ 08:51:11 PM 15-05-2012
KUALA LIPIS, May 15 — DAP is not a democratic party as it does not allow its members to express opinions different from that of its top leaders, says Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
He said the bad attitude of the opposition party was proven when its vice-president Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim’s term as senator was not extended after speaking against the Bersih rally that took place on April 28.
Tunku Abdul Aziz then made the decision to quit DAP with immediate effect, last night, given the differences that were irreconcilable.
“They (DAP leaders) don’t practise what they preach. They cannot accept a different opinion from theirs and those who speak up will continue to be condemned.
“Imagine what will happen if the opposition rules this country. Many, including government officers, will be sacked for expressing a different opinion or for not supporting their leadership,” Mohd Shafie (picture) said after a Mesra Rakyat programme in Kampung Kerambit, here, today.
He advised the people to judge carefully the attitude of the opposition, which he said, only harped on democratic principles without actually putting them into practice.
In Kuala Lumpur, meanwhile, International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir said Tunku Abdul Aziz’s action of quitting DAP was not surprising to him as the latter was one who sticks to his principles.
“I am more surprised why it took him so long to make the decision as right from the beginning I could see that his values and principles were contrary to DAP’s,” he said after launching a funding programme for small and medium enterprises today.
Mukhriz said the people could now see how a party which often harped on about democracy had not been practising it.
Therefore, he said, when Tunku Abdul Aziz expressed opinions that were contrary to that of the DAP’s top leaders on the Bersih demonstration when speaking in the Dewan Negara recently, his term as senator was not extended by the party.
“I hope the people can judge for themselves the kind of democracy practised by DAP all this while,” he added. — Bernama
