Dr Zambry tries to pacify the Chinese and Indians in Perak:

Perak belongs to all Perak people, and not to any particular group or party, said newly appointed Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

“This is the state for all of us. I am not the Mentri Besar for one particular race or particular party. I am the Mentri Besar for all ethnic groups in Perak,” he said in his speech during the Perak Chinese New Year open house in Kg Simee on Saturday.

On talk that he belonged to and served only a particular group, Zambry cleared the air by saying:

“The answer is no, and no and no. Zambry is here to serve all Perak people including the opposition parties.

“I will ensure that there is fairness to all people in the state,” said Dr Zambry, who was attending the first function as the Mentri Besar after he was sworn in at Istana Iskandariah in Kuala Kangsar on Friday.

Here’s some excerpt from the Q and A he had with members of the press:

Q: Do you feel secure in your position as MB especially since the three who threw their support behind Barisan have not joined any component parties, thus there is still some possibility that they might change their allegiance?

A: They are Independents who are friendly towards the Barisan. We always follow the rule.

Q: You might have been appointed by the Sultan, but do you think that you have the mandate of the people?

A: My appointment is also mandated by the people since it is based on the number of representatives in the state assembly that we have.

Q: What are you going to do to correct the people’s perception of you?

A: We have to go to the people and ask them to remain calm. My number one priority is to advise the people to look at the issues from the proper perspective.

Q: Will the three independents be given exco positions?

A: We will announce when the day comes. We will see the exco line-up when I make announcement.

Q: Will you have trouble deciding on your exco line-up that is racially balanced?

Q: I will take that into account. There are ways.

A: No particular race is going to be left out.

Q: Will Barisan support the appointment of Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang state assemblyman) as deputy speaker?

A; We will look into it. I will make a decision [Note that he was one of those who protested her appointment last year]

Q: There are no Indian representative in Barisan Nasional.

A: I will have to look into that. I don’t want any particular community to feel left out.

Q: What about the policy to give freehold title to Chinese New Villages [UMNO protested this move as the other villages were given leasehold status only]

A: Wait first. I haven’t even been to the office.

Meanwhile,  Zahid Hamidi, deputy minister in PM’s department openly extends invitation to Pakatan’s Indian representatives to jump ship and be “BN-friendly” independents:

KUALA KANGSAR: Barisan Nasional welcomes any state assemblyman from the opposition who crosses over as it is the best way to bring progress to Indians in Perak, said Perak Umno liaison deputy chief Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

This was in view of the fact that no BN assemblymen represented the MIC, PPP and IPF, said Zahid, who is also minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

Zahid said: “The BN door is always open and there are no conditions. We are not giving conditions and we don’t want to be given conditions (in appointing exco members) but they, too, have considerations to develop their ethnic group and the best way is to be with us.”

If the Indian reps look solely from their ethnic representative point of view, they may have a good mind to jump ship.  I mean, its easy to use the idea of “for the better good” to hide any ulterior motives in jumping ships But if they represent their constituency, things are not as simple as that. Civil groups like HINDRAF are the ones that are non-partisan. They will lean to any party that will support their cause and not indebted nor aligned to any group permanently. On the other hand, politicians join a political party who share their ideals (or so it supposed to be!). The only reason a politician quits his party is when he finds that the party’s views are not aligned with his own. Thus, if Indian reps feel their purpose is to solely help their community, then they should be in MIC in the first place. Or perhaps I’m wrong.

So, if you were Sivanesan, Keshvinder, Sivakumar etc., would you quit your party and a be a “not-so-independent” independent?

Anyway, UMNO can always choose some veterans in Perak MIC to be a representative in the assembly – I suppose some ways can be worked out.