Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang also wants Taib to put in place his succession place right now.
KUCHING: The hasty swearing in of Taib Mahmud as Sarawak’s chief minister for the seventh term has drawn flak from a top Pakatan Rakyat leader who claimed it was done in fear of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s growing influence here.
Taib was sworn in at about 10.40 pm last night, immediately after knowing state BN had retained its two-thirds majority in the state assembly in a key election.
“Whether he was afraid Najib may intervene and spoil his plans… we do not know. It’s a question that only Taib can answer,” said DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang
The DAP scored a landmark victory yesterday, more than doubling its seats from five to 12, in an unprecedented event that saw the opposition break BN’s complete dominance.
DAP also ousted George Chan, the president of the Chinese-based Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and a deputy chief minister, for the Piasau seat.
The state’s oldest party won only six out of the 19 contested seats with four of them being Dayak majority constituencies and only two in Chinese majority areas, signaling Chinese rejection to the ruling coalition.
PKR also tripled its seat to grab three victories with two being rural constituencies. The interiors of Sarawak are generally known to be BN strongholds.
Taib to cling on?
Pakatan has made Taib’s resignation as the focal point of its campaign and observers feel they were successful although Taib’s party, Parti Pusaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) won all 35 seats it contested.
Taib said he will need a month to assemble his Cabinet but Lim suggested problems within Taib’s rank and file now that his deputy Chan has been ousted in the aftermath of yesterday’s polls.
The Ipoh Timur MP also said that the signal for Taib to go was clear following the election result.
“Why must he take a month? The message from yesterday is clear. The people want him to go. What he should do now is to go to the legislative assembly and start the transition of power,” said the DAP leader.
The chief minister has been forced to draft a transition plan after it was clear that the Najib administration viewed Taib as a liability in its aim to keep Sarawak as its “vote bank”.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had made it a point to assure Sarawakians that Taib will go but no specific timeline was given as to when the transition of power will take place.
Taib himself had said that he will relinquish power mid-way through his term and has already identified a successor although opposition leaders remained sceptical amid rumours that he will remain as chief minister until he can take over as the state governor.
KUCHING: The hasty swearing in of Taib Mahmud as Sarawak’s chief minister for the seventh term has drawn flak from a top Pakatan Rakyat leader who claimed it was done in fear of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s growing influence here.Taib was sworn in at about 10.40 pm last night, immediately after knowing state BN had retained its two-thirds majority in the state assembly in a key election.
“Whether he was afraid Najib may intervene and spoil his plans… we do not know. It’s a question that only Taib can answer,” said DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang
The DAP scored a landmark victory yesterday, more than doubling its seats from five to 12, in an unprecedented event that saw the opposition break BN’s complete dominance.
DAP also ousted George Chan, the president of the Chinese-based Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and a deputy chief minister, for the Piasau seat.
The state’s oldest party won only six out of the 19 contested seats with four of them being Dayak majority constituencies and only two in Chinese majority areas, signaling Chinese rejection to the ruling coalition.
PKR also tripled its seat to grab three victories with two being rural constituencies. The interiors of Sarawak are generally known to be BN strongholds.
Taib to cling on?
Pakatan has made Taib’s resignation as the focal point of its campaign and observers feel they were successful although Taib’s party, Parti Pusaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) won all 35 seats it contested.
Taib said he will need a month to assemble his Cabinet but Lim suggested problems within Taib’s rank and file now that his deputy Chan has been ousted in the aftermath of yesterday’s polls.
The Ipoh Timur MP also said that the signal for Taib to go was clear following the election result.
“Why must he take a month? The message from yesterday is clear. The people want him to go. What he should do now is to go to the legislative assembly and start the transition of power,” said the DAP leader.
The chief minister has been forced to draft a transition plan after it was clear that the Najib administration viewed Taib as a liability in its aim to keep Sarawak as its “vote bank”.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had made it a point to assure Sarawakians that Taib will go but no specific timeline was given as to when the transition of power will take place.
Taib himself had said that he will relinquish power mid-way through his term and has already identified a successor although opposition leaders remained sceptical amid rumours that he will remain as chief minister until he can take over as the state governor.
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