by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Monday, 17th February 1992:
Call on Selangor UMNO leaders to consider whether the Selangor Mentri Besar’s personal life and relationship with the Sultan of Selangor is an important cause of the worsening ties between the Istana and the Mentri Besar in Selangor
Utusan Malaysia’s headline for its front-page story today is “Sampai Bila Krisis Dengan Istana?”
This report said: “Menteri Besar sekarang nampaknya memegang rekod melalui gelora yang berpanjangan dengan istana, antaranya dari soal perkahwinan sulitnya dengan Tengku Puteri Zanariah, perlantikan barisan ahli Exco kerajaan negeri hinggalah pada isu Zoo Negara.
“Ketegangan itu memuncak hingga di Perhimpunan Agong UMNO November lalu di mana Zainal (Abdin Sakom, wakil UMNO Selangor) bertindak berani dan terus terang mendedahkan penglibatan istana dalam pentadbiran negeri.”
In finding a solution to the worsening relations between the Sultan of Selangor and the Mentri Besar, Selangor UMNO should consider whether the Selagnor Mentri Besar’s personal life and relationship with the Selangor Sultan had been one important cause and factor for the deterioration of the ties between the Palace and the Mentri Besar.
One of the earliest mottos of the Mahathir Administration is ‘Leadership by Example’. Can Tan Sri Muhammad Haji Mohd Tai claim that he is a ‘model Leader’ and is completely without blame or fault in the worsening relations between the Selangor Istana and the Selangor State Government?
In the latest episode, it is Tan Sri Muhammad Haji Mohd Taib who had taken the premature step in taking a confrontationist stand against the Sultan of Selangor. May be as a first step to resolve the new crisis in Selangor, and before the Selangor Menteri Besar takes any further step to politicise the issue, Tan Sri Muhammad should publicly confess what are the personal faults and wrongs he had done which had contributed to the latest crisis.