MP offered 'durian RM30', ministerial position to defect
Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong said he had received messages offering him to defect, as the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government struggles to regain its majority after several Umno lawmakers withdrew their support for the ruling coalition.
Sharing the WhatsApp messages, Khoo (above) said an unknown number had contacted him and pointed out that there were two ministers positions vacant now.
This was after Noraini Ahmad resigned as the higher education minister and Shamsul Anuar Nasarah quit as energy and natural resources minister, citing the need to abide by the Umno supreme council's decision to leave the PN government.
"Step out of the shadow from Lim's family... we need more non-Malay representation in the government," the message to Khoo read, which is believed to be referring to DAP's Lim Kit Siang and his son Guan Eng.
The person offered "durian RM30" and a ministerial position.
It is unclear what the euphemism for "durian RM30" meant. The person promised to pay "cash" immediately.
Khoo did not respond to the offer.
Taking to Facebook, Khoo said: "Kota Melaka is not for sale".
The DAP lawmaker also jokingly suggested that anyone interested in becoming a minister should contact that person.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on July 8 announced his party was withdrawing support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
However, Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is aligned to Muhyiddin, led a group of party MPs to rebel against Zahid.
Trying to push through the decision, Zahid on Aug 3 presented 11 MPs during a live press conference to prove that Muhyiddin had lost his majority.
Subsequently, Muhyiddin said he will see a vote of confidence in September, buying him time to muster the necessary numbers.
At present, Muhyiddin is estimated to have control of 102 out of 220 MPs.
However, this could change if Muhyiddin can convince other MPs to switch their allegiance ahead of the Parliament sitting.
Assuming this was a real offer, Normal cost-benefit trade-off analysis would mean those offering the Durian RM30 stand to gain much, much more than this to stay in power.
ReplyDeleteMalaysia ought to be a rich country, but a huge chunk of the wealth has gone into the pockets of a slect power elite and their cronies.
Durian has many valiants - musang king, D24, udang merah etc etc. All of them have a different base value.
ReplyDelete30 is just the multiplier.
Comprehendi?