CONTROVERSIAL Port Klang State assemblyman Badrul Hisham Abdullah is not only facing criticism from his former Pakatan Rakyat (PR) buddies.

 

In Port Klang, a group of residents are also unhappy that the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) man had resigned from his party to go independent last week, and be “friendly” towards Barisan Nasional (BN).

Some 200 residents gathered at Port Klang yesterday for the “Tak Nak Katak” protest against Badrul. The crowd, consisting mostly of members of his constituency, demanded that Badrul resign from his elected representative seat.

One of the protesters, who declined to be identified, wondered about the sudden move by Badrul.

“We can only speculate why he did what he did. I think the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission should investigate him. At least, it would clear his name as many are speculating the reason behind his decision.”
Klang Member of Parliament Charles Santiago, who was also present alongside Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam and Kota Raja MP Dr Siti Mariah Mahmood, said the people of Port Klang are largely dissatisfied with Badrul.

“The residents of Port Klang want Badrul to vacate his seat because when he stood for the March 8 elections, he was a PKR man. Now, he is ‘friendly’ towards Barisan Nasional.

“This was not what the people wanted. The people were getting fed up with him because he was not performing. That is why the Selangor Menteri Besar asked him to resign,” Santiago said.

Some bloggers and postings on social networking sites have lambasted PR for making this an issue, as last year PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim promised a mass crossover by the BN’s elected representatives.

When asked to comment, Santiago said: “This is not the same as that. This was not an arranged crossover.”

The Kapar MP, in his usual fierce manner, did not mince his words when it came to Badrul.

“He is a traitor. A traitor to those who voted for him for change, a traitor to his party and a traitor overall.

“He was not performing and we wanted to make it right for the people that elected him, but this is what happens.”

Some 30 police personnel watched over the protest as those gathered stamped Badrul Hisham’s poster with black tape.

On Oct 29, Badrul dropped a bombshell when he announced that he was resigning from PKR with immediate effect.

The 49-year-old claimed to have lost confidence in the party leadership as the reason behind his decision.

Earlier, Selangor MB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had asked Badrul to vacate his seat due to failure to discharge his duties effectively.

PR took charge of Selangor from BN after they won 36 out of 56 seats in last year’s election.

Attempts to contact Badrul Hisham at Press time were unsuccessful.