Penang DAP told not to lose sight of real enemy

Selangor DAP proposes a truce and a state level emergency meeting to end the Ramasamy- Karpal Singh spat.

PETALING JAYA: The Selangor DAP, saying enough is enough, wants an immediate truce to the fued involving Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy.
Selangor DAP vice chairman Charles Santiago, along with state committee members senator S Ramakrishnan and T Kannan, made the call today.
“The fighting factions need to have an immediate truce. They should no longer wash dirty linen in the public,” said Santiago, who is Klang MP.
He said this in reaction to public spat between Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy and factions supporting party national chairman Karpal Singh.
On Monday, Karpal questioned Ramasamy, who is also party deputy secretary general, for announcing that the party had decided to field three Indian women – D Kamachi, Kasturi (daughter of the late DAP stalwart P Patto), and an unknown lawyer from Penang, K Mangleswari.
Ramasamy was also quoted by Tamil daily Makkal Osai as saying that parliamentarians M Kulasegaran (Ipoh Barat), Charles Santiago (Klang) and M Manogaran (Teluk Intan), and assemblyman A Sivanesan (Sungkai) were virtually certain of contesting in the coming general election.
Karpal also warned party leaders against becoming political warlords by circumventing the leadership to promise and announce seats for their cronies.
Ramasamy however denied that Karpal had targetted him but had said that DAP should get rid of not only warlords but godfathers as well.
State leaders aligned to Karpal had then started criticising Ramasamy for trying to undermine Karpal.
The enemy is BN
“The Penang state leadership should call for an emergency meeting to resolve problem immediately,” said Santiago.
In addition, the Selangor DAP leaders also reminded their Penang counterparts not to tarnish the position of the Deputy Chief Minister II post which was given to an Indian.
“The position (of DCM II) is an honour to the Indian community. Do not tarnish the position,” said Santiago.
He also urged the Penang DAP Indians to save their energy for a bigger battle against the Barisan Nasional in the upcoming general election.
“The spat only serves to reduce confidence in the state leadership and this is bad since Penang is a model state,” said Santiago.
Demo put off, table talk cancelled

Meanwhile a scheduled round table talk tonight at the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in Komtar, Penang, to end the ‘Ramasamy fiasco’ has been called off.
Seri Delima assemblyman RS Nethaji Rayer, who was called up to attend the table talk, said he had received a text message from Penang DAP secretary and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s political secretary Ng Wei Aik confirming its cancellation.
“No reasons were given however. But the grassroots delegates will raise their grouses at the state DAP convention this Sunday. Ng, the Komtar assemblyman, could not be reached for comments.
Earlier, a group of DAP grassroots leaders and members cancelled a scheduled demonstration against Ramasamy outside the state office.
Rayer said the protest was cancelled following directives from Lim, Karpal and veteran Lim Kit Siang.
Instead the group was told that a meeting had been arranged tonight to reach a truce among warring parties and end the fiasco. But now it has been called off.