PETALING JAYA: The fragility of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was exposed once again as two of its most ideologically different partners ended their 13-month-old alliance in Kedah yesterday.

While PR’s top leaders like DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang appeared together in a PR-organised rally in Kelana Jaya on Tuesday, the weakness of their partnership was shown in the joint Kedah government yesterday.

At a press conference in Alor Setar yesterday evening, Kedah DAP chief Thomas Su announced that the party was pulling out its sole representative from the PAS-led Kedah state government.

According to NST Online, Su said that yesterday’s demolition of a pig abattoir in Kampung Berjaya was one reason for the pullout.

He told reporters that the demolition showed that the Kedah state government was insensitive to the needs of the minority of the state.

The abattoir was to be demolished last month but it was halted following the intervention of DAP’s sole state representative, Lee Guan Aik (Kota Darulaman).

PAS has 16 assemblymen while Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has five. The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition currently holds 14 seats in the 36-seat state assembly. Kedah is led by Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak of PAS.

According to Malaysiakini, Su said he had already conveyed the decision to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also the Penang chief minister. Calls to Lim however went unanswered.

When contacted, DAP’s de facto chief Lim Kit Siang said he had heard rumours of the pullout but did not want to confirm the matter.

“If he (Lee) has withdrawn, then this matter should first be brought to the party’s central executive committee,” said Kit Siang.

And although PR is scheduled to meet in parliament at 1pm today, Kit Siang said that the meeting was “not specially called to discuss the pullout”.

This is not the first time that DAP has clashed with PAS.

Last year, DAP had also threatened to pull out over the new ruling of 50% housing quota for bumiputera and the tearing down of a temple.

Although, DAP’s pullout from the partnership in Kedah does not change the equation there, other states are less clear.

While Perak has already fallen to BN, a reciprocal pullout by PAS from the DAP-majority state would end any chance PR has of reclaiming the state. DAP currently has 17 seats while PAS and PKR have six and five respectively in the 59-seat Perak assembly. BN holds 28 seats with three “friendly” independents.

In Selangor, a full pullout by PAS (eight seats) and assuming if they support Umno, could cause a hung assembly in the 56-seat assembly as PKR (15) and DAP (13) form only half of the total assembly. BN holds the remaining 20.  

In Penang, PAS has only one seat. DAP has 19 while PKR has nine for a total of 28 seats in the 40-seat state assembly. BN holds the remaining 11.