MCLM snips Snap off over 'suspicious practices'

The Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) has cut ties with the Sarawak National Party (Snap), saying it is "suspicious" about the latest acitivities of the revived political party.

The main objective of its alliance with Snap, MCLM president Haris Ibrahim said, was to attend to the plight of marginalised Sarawakians by bringing an end to the 30-year reign of Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud.

"Our aim was to help in establishing a pro-rakyat government," Haris said, but MCLM has the past few days been receiving information that Snap candidates, and some of their privileged leaders, had suddenly come into significant amounts of funds.

"We have been told that the funds were being made available by operatives from Kuala Lumpur acting under the direction of the BN," Haris (left) told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

"There is no conclusive evidence, but in situations like this, you rarely get black-and-white evidence."

If this information was true, he said, then it was a betrayal of the worst kind to people who have been oppressed for the last 30 years. "Betrayal is a hard word, for the alliance we had forged was based on trust."

MCLM announced its partnership with the Dayak-based party on Feb 16 and said it would assist Snap in screening prospective candidates, as well as organising training for counting agents and in polling procedures for its members.

However, last week, MCLM was informed that Snap wished to cancel the training sessions until further notice.

On March 16, Snap choose 16 candidates for the coming Sarawak election without consulting MCLM and six days later, it named another 11 candidates.

Snap's candidates 'high risk', integrity-wise

"All the candidates are deemed 'high risk', integrity wise, and are not favourable under the principles MCLM holds," Haris said.

He also noted that he had since tried to get an explanation from Snap's secretary-general Stanley Jugol, but failed.

"I only received a faxed statement from them, late yesterday evening at 5pm. The very same statement that Snap had forwarded to the media," he added.

This statement was on Snap rejecting a report in the Sarawak Report website that it had entered into a deal with the BN.

Nevertheless, Haris said, MCLM would not be deterred in teaming up with other opposition parties that share its goals.

"We will work hand in hand with those opposition parties whose aspirations are to take this nation back to the 'Bapak Malaysia' era... one people-one nation, all equal," he stressed.

As for now, Haris reiterated that MCLM would assist any opposition party that needed its help during the Sarawak state election.

"Even (if) it is too late now, we will still give assistance if they (opposition parties) need it," Haris said.

The Sarawak Report yesterday said there was a secret arrangement between Snap and the BN in Kuala Lumpur.

The website said it has received "explosive evidence" that a secret deal had been forged between BN and Snap in a desperate attempt to destroy the opposition and maintain BN's grip on Sarawak in the coming April 16 state election.

Jugol, in a statement sent out to the media yesterday afternoon, refuted the accusation.