A source close to the leadership told FMT that the five PKR assemblymen were told to vote “nay” on the motion “at all cost”.
“A meeting involving senior PKR leaders and their five Penang reps took place at a hotel recently.
“They have been told to support the Penang government’s policies in an attempt to fix strained ties with the executive council.
“Although the instruction did not go down well , the PKR leader told them to swallow their pride for the sake of unity,” the source said today.
The source added the five reps had verbally agreed with the top PKR leader that it would oppose the motion.
“It is highly likely that there will also be efforts to make peace with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, in an attempt to ease the tension between them since the last assembly sitting.
“This is an attempt to restore some semblance of unity in Pakatan Harapan in the Penang government,” he said.
The PKR 5 —Ong Chin Wen (Bukit Tengah), Cheah Kah Peng (Kebun Bunga), Dr Norela Ariffin (Penanti), Dr T. Jayabalan (Batu Uban) and Lee Khai Loon (Machang Bubuk)— had abstained from voting in a motion on land reclamation tabled by Umno’s Pulau Betong assemblyman Muhammad Farid Saad during the final day of the state assembly sitting on Nov 27.
Farid’s retitled but similar motion has been accepted by the august house and is scheduled to be put up for a vote during this weeks’ assembly sitting.
His proposed motion is to “urge the state government to cancel reclamation works involving some 4,000 acres at the south of Penang Island and to seek alternative financing for the RM27billion Penang Transport Master Plan”.
An irate Lim had criticised the five, saying the abstention was a “betrayal” of the state government.
Lim had then said the state would have to fork out RM1 billion in compensation if it cancelled yet-to-begin reclamation projects inherited from the previous administration.
The five had then responded by saying it was a vote of ‘conscience’.
The motion, was however rejected after obtaining 23 nays, 10 yay and five abstaining votes.
DAP’s Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu had also supported the motion. He later apologised for voting for the motion in a press conference with state DAP leaders.
The PKR 5 have been silent since, with lone wolf Cheah defending the group in a press conference in February.
Cheah and his fellow party member and, Ong were stripped of their directorships at state government linked companies in early February.