Penang PKR defends party's Kebun Bunga assemblyman

GEORGE TOWN: The tiff between PKR's Kebun Bunga assemblyman Cheah Kah Peng with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is shaping up to be a "civil war" between PKR and DAP.
In the latest turn of events, Penang PKR chairperson Datuk Mansor Othman issued a statement condemning the state for sidelining his comrade.
He said the party disapproved of Cheah's omission from the state's list of Pakatan Harapan assemblymen who were entrusted to compile a list in their respective constituencies of those affected by the Nov 4/5 mammoth floods in Penang.
It was learnt that Cheah was in the midst of compiling the list when he received an email from state secretary Datuk Seri Farizan Darus that he was excluded from the list of Pakatan assemblypersons, who will be helping the state to impart aid.
Out of the 30 Pakatan assemblymen, Cheah was the only one who was excluded.
When asked for comment, Lim said he had answered the issue on Thursday when he told the media that a procedural change had resulted in Cheah's name being excluded.
Meanwhile, former PKR assemblyman S. Raventharan urged Lim and Cheah to "bury their hatchet" for the sake of their constituents.
"We must remember that the people voted us in, so we should not shortchange them by getting involved in petty squabbles. We must be the bigger person here in resolving our differences for the sake of the people," Raventharan said.
"It is a storm in a tea cup if you ask me. A difference within the (Pakatan) family to which I am certain we can find a solution. Let us come to our senses that we do not need to fight; we just need to serve the people."
He noted that Malaysia practices the Westminister parliamentary system where there was a need to obey and respect the chief assembly or parliamentary whip or official.
In Penang's case, it is the chief minister who should command the respect of all his or her peers, Raventharan said.
Given such a scenario, for anybody who is in dispute with the chief minister and cannot find a solution, the gentlemanly way would be to step aside, said Raventharan.
He reminded Lee and Cheah that the funds that they plan to disburse are essentially public funding so they should not lose themselves in a squabble over how to register or how to distribute the funds to the needy.
"In the end it is about the people; it is their money and it is not about us."