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Sunday 21 March 2010

Tan thinks Zahrain not fibbing

PENANG, March 20 — The claim by Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had said he had the blessings of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to execute his Sept 16 takeover plan in 2008, may be true.

This is based on the good relations between them (Zahrain and Anwar), said Tan Tee Beng, who quit Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) last month to become an independent MP for Nibong Tebal.

Tan said he did not know of the plan until a state PKR meeting was chaired by Zahrain, who at that time, was the state PKR liason chief.

“I personally think that Zahrain’s claim might be true, in view of his relationship with Anwar, and he was also the state chief at that time,” he said, adding that their relationship was very close and they met on a monthly basis.

When contacted by Bernama here today, Tan, however, said he was against the move by Anwar to persuade MPs to jump ship, instead of getting the mandate of the people to form the government.

He claimed that he had also met Anwar before Sept 16, 2008 to discuss about matters concerning Penang, and had also asked the latter about a possible takeover of the Federal Government.

“Anwar just told me that there were MPs who would be joining Pakatan Rakyat soon but did not elaborate,” he said.

During the discussion, Tan claimed that he told Anwar it was not the proper way to take over the government by encouraging MPs to join Pakatan.

“Lastly, it was all up to Anwar to make the decision and he insisted that the MPs were ready to cross over,” he said.

Two days ago, Zahrain, the independent Bayan Baru MP, had said in the Dewan Rakyat that Anwar had allegedly convinced opposition MPs that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was waiting to confirm the number of BN MPs joining Pakatan Rakyat. — Bernama

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