KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Kedah MCA exco member Datuk Dr Leong Yong Kong today resigned from his party after accusing it of failing to safeguard the Federal Constitution.
In a video recording made available to Malay Mail Online, Leong read out a statement criticising his party and Umno for not protecting the country’s supreme law.
Although his statement did not explicitly mention it, it is believed Leong was reacting to an Umno minister’s move yesterday to promote PAS’s hudud Bill in Parliament’s standing orders, allowing it to be tabled.
“MCA is already unable to protect the country’s Constitution and the interests of all citizens, therefore I announce that (I will) quit MCA until there’s a change in this matter,” he said in Mandarin.
The Gurun assemblyman said, however, he will not give up his exco position.
Leong added he will leave the decision over his exco post to the Kedah Mentri Besar and MCA.
“I will not resign from my official posts, because I have done nothing wrong at all, the one at fault is Umno and Barisan Nasional (who) can no longer protect the country’s Constitution,” he said.
Malay Mail Online is attempting to contact Leong and MCA to confirm the resignation.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman’s intervention yesterday allowed PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s Bill to unexpectedly make it into the Dewan Rakyat.
PAS is seeking to amend the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 to empower the Islamic courts to impose any punishment besides the death sentence.
The Umno minister’s move drew protest today from other Barisan Nasional components who complained that they were not informed of the plan to allow PAS to table the Bill.
