DAP Buntung assemblyman A. Siva Subramaniam’s U-turn in quitting from the DAP and returning to the fold within hours is a silly joke but it was real enough to cause a near crisis for the new Perak government.

I am reminded of the 1968 song “I Started a Joke” by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees fame: “I started a joke, which started the whole world crying, but I didn’t see that the joke was on me, oh! no.”

DAP chairman who is also MP for Bukit Gelugor in Penang, Karpal Singh, is not clearly amused: “He has not only damaged the image of the party but also shame to himself for by withdrawing his letter of resignation hours after quitting the party.”

“This is no joking matter and I cannot accept such behaviour, “he added.

The party boss Karpal Singh said the party’s central executive committee will meet on Thursday to discuss this matter. Siva Subramaniam,who is DAP assistant state secretary, may have to face the music.

But Ngeh Koo Ham, who is DAP state chief, who in his trademark gracious manner, said DAP is not going to take any disciplinary action against Siva Subramaniam as it was just a misunderstanding. However, he was quick to point out that Siva was not offered any post as an inducement.

Siva Subramaniam won the Buntong seat on a DAP ticket at the polls three weeks ago riding on the wave of anger against the Barisan. In the 2004 elections, Siva Subramaniam lost in the outing. The Buntung state seat is made up of 47 % Chinese and 46 % Indians.

Siva Subramaniam demaded to know why only one exco post is given to Indians. Siva Subramaniam claimed that he and state party committee member and Tronoh assemblyman V. Sivakumar were supposed to get the exco post but it went to DAP central executive committee member A. Sivanesan, who is from Selangor over the heads of other Perak DAP leaders.

In the March 8 general election, the Opposition coalition won 31 of the 59 state seats in Perak - 18 seats went to DAP, seven to PKR, and six to PAS - while Barisan won 28 seats.

Of the 10 exco members, six were from DAP, including one Indian representative, Sungkai assemblyman A. Sivanesan.

With Siva Subramaniam's short-lived resignation from DAP, the coalition was left with 30 assemblymen, just two more than Barisan. If one or two more crossed over to the Barisan, it would be able to topple the new state government by way of a vote of no confidence against.

Why Siva Subramaniam had decided to play the Indian card is a mystery. There are no Indian assemblymen in the just defeated Barisan Nasional coalition nor any Members of Parliament for Perak except for M.Saravanan of MIC who won the Tapah constituency. The new DAP-PKR-PAS coalition, on other hand, has three MPs and five state assemblymen.

Siva Subramaniam’s tantrums was calculated to cause maximum damage as he released his resignation letter to the media as soon as he faxed it to his party.

He said in the quit letter he had lost confidence in the state leaders and claimed that Ngeh had not fulfilled his promise of appointing two Indian assemblymen as state executive council members.

“The decision was a huge slap for the Indian community and designed to hoodwink the Indian community in Perak,” he said.

However, a few hours later, Ngeh managed to have a five-minute discussion with Siva Subramaniam and the matter was put to rest. A press conference was called where Siva Subramaniam, who is also DAP Socialist Youth committee member, retracted his resignation letter. He said the whole episode was a “mistake and misunderstanding” on his part.

“The matter has been solved. I am satisfied with Ngeh’s explanation that the post of assembly Speaker would be filled by an Indian leader,” he said.

Siva Subramaniam said his ailing mother was the one who convinced him to discuss his resignation with the party leadership.

Ngeh said Perak DAP was not sidelining the interest of the Indian community. He promised that there would be more Indian representation in the state government compared with the previous administration.

Now that the joke is over, I hope Siva Subramaniam would take his role as an elected law maker in the Perak State Assembly seriously. The DAP has also to ensure that there would be less hiccups in the state. Siva is not the only U-turn case in quitting the party. Just before the 8 March elections DAP veteran Fong Po Kuan also threw in the towel only to take it back six days later. She was forgiven by both the party and the electorate which returned her as Batu Gajah MP with a much bigger majority. The next time around, voters may not be so generous. (By Bob Teoh/ MySinchew)