WHAT A (BREAK AWAY) DECISION BY KEDAH DAP

YOU may not be in love with it and for the most part, it can be negative but the problem is you just can't ignore politics because the entire system revolves around it.

We are still in the north, where things continue to happen with the Pakatan Rakyat administrations in Kedah and Penang. The one that I find most fascinating is the issue in Kedah, where the state Dap has taken the unusual step of deciding to break away from the government led by fellow Pakatan member Pas without first going through the party's central working committee.

This has forced Dap Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang to schedule a trip up north to meet party members. When Lim first knew of the problem he had not even been briefed by Kedah Dap chairman Thomas Su! What a way for a party that is quick to pick on everyone else's faults to make a major decision. This one, says Lim, is a situation with grave seriousness. Over in another corner Pakatan supremo Anwar Ibrahim sings a familiar tune -- he blames it all on the mainstream media and maintains that there was no such break away. Just like Lim, maybe no one bothered to brief Anwar.

Beyond the decision per se by the Kedah Dap, you can interpret the arbitrary decision any way you like. To me it shows how the party's state leaders do not give a hoot to what their national leadership thinks.

Down in Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has finally spoken on the Kampung Lorong Buah Pala dispute. He insists that the land owner/developer compensate the residents if they are to develop the area. Quite a problem here, forcing anyone to do so especially if the settlement is an illegal one in that sense. Alternatively Lim states that the state government is willing to compensate the owner/developer. That's his business, although at the moment he may not realise how much it may cost the state. The latter would be a popular decision but I don't think any government can afford to make popular decisions all the time because there will be another dispute, another group of dissatisfied people. Where does it stop?

PAS MUST BE SURE
THE first hurdle has been overcome and now for step two. The youth sections of Umno and Pas have now agreed to a discourse or whatever label you want to attach to it and it is something Pas president Hadi Awang views positively. But has anyone asked the party's spiritual adviser Nik Aziz?

To me it's clear what Hadi thinks about something like this, given his earlier suggestion for unity talks with Umno but at the same time Pas must be sure how it wants the meeting to be conducted. I point this out because Pas Youth vice-chief Ahmad Sabki Yusof is suggesting that the discourse should be an event open to the public. I don't think that's how the others want it and I don't think that's how Umno Youth sees it. Pas Youth head Nasrudin Hassan doesn't seem to suggest an open dialogue which in effect translates into a debate and this is something Umno is not keen on.

But really, whatever the final agreement on the mechanics of the meeting, I'm curious to know what Nik Aziz thinks about this.