Anwar's takeover of Port Dickson a betrayal of voters' trust, says Patriot

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 14 Sep 2018 11:01AM · 7 Comments

National Patriots Association president Brigadier-General (rtd) Mohamad Arshad Raji says the former Port Dickson MP has betrayed the army members who donated and helped in his election campaign . – The Malaysian Insight file pic, September 14, 2018.

FORMER Port Dickson MP Danyal Balagopal Abdullah betrayed his fellow veterans and his supporters by giving up his seat to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, said National Patriots Association (Patriot) president Brigadier-General (rtd) Mohamad Arshad Raji.

Arshad said Danyal’s decision to resign was also a betrayal of army members, many of whom in PD had donated to or helped in his campaign, said Arshad.

 “What disappointed the veterans even more is that quite a number had donated to his campaign fund when Danyal was announced the candidate for the Port Dickson seat.

“Besides, Patriots and other veterans had campaigned for him and celebrated his victory,” he said in a statement.

Danyal on Wednesday announced his resignation as Port Dickson MP, paving the way for a by-election for Anwar to contest.

“Rear Admiral Danyal Balagopal Abdullah (rtd) is just a piece in a chessboard used in the game of politics to suit his party’s convenience. This is the way the veterans and Patriot see the game being played out,” said Arshad.

In an interview with The Malaysian Insight yesterday, Arshad said Danyal should have kept the seat to articulate issues affecting the military which are often overlooked.

“With Danyal out, a voice for the serving personnel and veterans in and outside the august house is lost,” Arshad said in today’s statement.

He reiterated that Patriot was not opposed to Anwar but to Danyal giving up his seat as the move disregarded the wishes of the voters.

“We are expressing the disappointment of numerous veterans expressed through social media, and even calls to send a retired officer to contest as an independent in the forced by-election,” he said.

Anwar’s decision to contest in PD has not gone down well with several senior PKR leaders who claimed they were kept in the dark.

PKR vice-president Tian Chua had questioned why the decision was not conveyed to all but in a party political bureau in a meeting  on Tuesday, while Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin had expressed her disappointment that party members were not told about the new development.

The Port Dickson parliamentary seat has 75,212 registered voters, who are Malays (43%), Chinese (33%) and Indians (22%). –  September 14, 2018.

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Comments

  • The guy paving the road to PD for DSAI does it so poorly without proper planning and without prior consultation. .

    Posted 5 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • What is the issue here? Prior to GE14, Patriot did not ask PH for seats to contest. They decided to back the coalition. Was Danyal endorsed by Patriot as their candidate then? To my knowledge Danyal is a PKR member and not in Patriot. He was selected by the local party. Danyal can always be appointed as a senator since there will be 17 vacancies soon in the Dewan Negara. He can also be considered for appointment as a deputy defence minister if the prime minister agrees.

    Posted 5 years ago by Gerard Lourdesamy · Reply

    • Please get your fact right. Patriot is just like any other NGO.

      Posted 5 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

    • Agreed wth yr rationale

      Posted 5 years ago by B N Jettey · Reply

  • So Patriot is going into politics .........

    Posted 5 years ago by Azis Yusoff · Reply

  • No big deal here. Anwar can tell voters that besides his already stated idea of enhancing PD's tourism potential (Dr. Mahathir doing the same for Langkawi), he will address Patriot's complaints for help..

    Posted 5 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

    • Sadly, till today he is still not addressing this influential voice. He should have done it before entering PD. Silly him.

      Posted 5 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply