Karpal Tries to Defuse Boycott Debacle by Showing DAP’s Relative Maturity

DAP National Chairman Karpal Singh denied on Saturday that his party's grassroots leaders had called for a boycott of the swearing-in ceremony of the Dewan Rakyat on June 24.

"All Pakatan MPs will be attending the ceremony except for those who can't attend. They can always come within six months," he said, trying to patch up the damage triggered by his PKR allies over the past fortnight.

"I don't think there should be any (boycotting). You have been elected and you have to be responsible. To my knowledge, all including the PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will attend the Parliament sitting."

His words came just days after House Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia hit back at those 'mulling' a boycott by reminding those that did not attend in protest that they would be disqualified from Parliament if they kept up the shenanigans.

"MPs will have six months to take their oath and until such time, those who fail to do so would be barred from participating in parliamentary proceedings," he said after the parliamentary briefing on Tuesday afternoon.

If Karpal is to be believed that none of DAP's grassroots leaders had made plans to boycott the ceremony, then this should be taken as a positive sign of the party's relative maturity – at least compared to their erstwhile allies in PKR and PAS.

Earlier, the PAS Information Chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (no doubt a busy man since GE13), tried to explain that just because some of the party's key leaders had decided to stay away from Anwar's Black 505 rallies, it did not signify that they were disloyal to the cause.

"Not attending does not turn the leaders into traitors, they still do support. I am confident that there are no leaders who do not support the cause," he told Sinar Harian.

PAS Vice President Husam Musa had said dejectedly that any party leader who did not attend the rally in Kelantan was "carrying the voice of Umno," after Deputy President Mohamad Sabu issued instructions for the top members to attend.

"Everyone abides by the party's instruction but I am confident that some leaders who did not attend... had prior commitments or were worn-out," Tuan Ibrahim said, perhaps a little unconvincingly.

It must be a worrying time for the Opposition if PAS has to take a lesson on maturity from the DAP.