TV PAKATAN RAKYAT

Anwar Ibrahim


Mat Sabu


PKR insisted that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had asked for World Bank loans, as the then prime minister had chaired the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) that made the requests. The former prime minister said yesterday Malaysia had taken World Bank loans from 1958 to 1999, but that he never personally asked for such funds. PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli made available documents purportedly from the World Bank, and pointed out that funds were disbursed for the July 1998 National Economic Recovery Plan (NERP), which was drawn up by the NEAC. “It is clearly proven the request for financial aid from the World Bank was made by the NEAC, on behalf of the Malaysian government, to pay for the NERP that was launched in July 1998. The NEAC was fully controlled by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad,” he said in an attached statement.

He added the documents showed the negotiation process began in February 1, 1999, “after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was jailed” on charges of corruption. Anwar was found guilty and sentenced to six years’ jail on April 14, 1999, seven months after being sacked from the government by Dr Mahathir. Rafizi also claimed that loans worth US$404 million (or RM1.5 billion at the exchange rate then) in total were requested under Dr Mahathir’s orders. Dr Mahathir has been locked in a verbal war over the past week with his then deputy Anwar and PKR leaders over their respective roles and actions during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. The former Umno president, who is still influential in the party, issued a challenge last week to Opposition Leader Anwar over allegations of a purported letter that the former had written to the World Bank to appeal for funds during the financial crisis.

PKR has since produced World Bank records showing that Dr Mahathir’s administration had accepted financial aid numerous times from May 18, 1982 to Malaysia’s post-financial crisis period of March 30, 1999. This includes three loans for projects inked six months after Anwar was sacked as deputy prime minister in September 1998. Previously, Dr Mahathir said the last negotiation for loans was in 1997, but the funds were not disbursed until 1999. ~themalaysianinsider.com~

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Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sounded warning bells today, saying the government’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) will worsen income disparity and force some 1.7 million Malaysians into poverty by 2020. On the flip side, he said, corporate giants and government cronies would be enjoying a larger slice of the economic pie even as the common Malaysian struggle with hardship. The former finance minister poured doubt over the projections in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s ETP introduced last year, claiming that instead of reducing the number of low-income workers and increasing the number of high-paying jobs, the initiative would only see the number of urban poor climb.

By 2020, he said, there will be between seven and 8.3 million urban poor in Malaysia, with monthly earnings of RM1,500 and below. The average Malaysian’s stake in the economy, he added, would also deplete significantly under the programme. “In the final analysis, [the] ETP is a continuation of a flawed economic model mired with corruption and rent-seeking culture that rewards the ruling echelons at the expense of the majority,” he told a dinner talk tonight in his keynote address entitled, “Debunking ETP: Widening income gap” at The Westin. Anwar noted that the ETP projects a salary distribution for 2020 that will see an additional 2.8 million people earning more than RM4,000 per month.

But, he said, the trend of slow growth in real wages here would only turn this projection into a “falsehood”. He noted that statistics from the Human Resources Ministry revealed that wages growth in Malaysia recorded an average increase of 2.6 per cent annually for the past decade while “cost of living has outpaced the wages growth”. “This is further verified by the National Employment Return Study of 2009, involving a sample of 24,000 employers and 1.3 million workers which found that 33.8 per cent of the workers were paid below RM700 per month.

“If this were to be extrapolated nationally, it suggests that up to 34 per cent of our workforce earn below the national poverty line,” he said. Another flaw in the assumption used for the ETP, said Anwar, is the 2.8 per cent average inflation for the period up to 2020 which contributes to the programme’s GNI (gross national income) per capita target of RM48,000 by 2020. If inflation grows higher than 2.8 per cent in the next few years, he said, real wages will be lower and the GNI per capita target is nothing more than “a number on a fancy ETP brochure”. “The consequence that these flawed economic assumptions has on ETP is great. The premise that ETP can guarantee higher wages and deliver Malaysia to the path of high-income nation collapses instantly if we were to use more realistic assumptions detached from political spins and propaganda,” he said. ~themalaysianinsider.com~

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Shortly after the prosecution filed its closing arguments Tuesday and declared that it had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader, was guilty of sodomy, Mr. Anwar emerged from the Kuala Lumpur High Court to cries of “Reform!” from his supporters. “I still hope that sanity and justice will prevail and the judge will have to decide based on the facts and the law,” said Mr. Anwar, who faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty, said as he left the courtroom.

The trial, which has extended over nearly two years, is expected to end on Thursday with a reply from the defense. Mr. Anwar will then face an anxious wait for a verdict that could prevent him from running in elections widely expected to be held next year and realizing his long-held ambition to become prime minister. Sodomy, even between consenting adults, remains a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia, and any prison sentence would bar Mr. Anwar, 64, from contesting elections for five years from the date of his release. Some analysts, however, predict that a guilty verdict could enhance support for the political opposition and bolster its contention that the trial was politically motivated. The government has denied such assertions.

More than a decade has passed since Mr. Anwar, who served as deputy prime minister from 1993 to 1998, was convicted of earlier charges of abuse of power and sodomy. Released from prison in 2004 after the Federal Court overturned the sodomy conviction, Mr. Anwar now leads an opposition alliance that holds more parliamentary seats than ever after the governing coalition, which has dominated Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957, lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority in the 2008 elections. Mr. Anwar has not backed down from his assertion that he is the victim of a conspiracy and the government his persecutor. And he does not believe that the verdict in the new trial, in which he is charged with forcing a male aide to have sex, will be any different from the first.

A guilty verdict, he says, is a “foregone conclusion.” “Am I prepared?” he said Thursday in an interview at his party’s headquarters. “Yes, I don’t have a choice.” But he added, “Whether I am in jail or convicted or otherwise, reform and change must take place.” Several months after the 2008 elections, Mr. Anwar was charged with sodomizing his former political aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, in a Kuala Lumpur apartment. Mr. Anwar has described the allegation as a “blatant and vicious lie.” In final submissions to the court on Tuesday, the prosecution disputed the defense’s claims that DNA evidence considered crucial in the trial could have been tainted. The prosecution said Mr. Anwar had failed to refute key elements of Mr. Saiful’s testimony when he delivered a statement from the dock. Because he did not give evidence under oath, Mr. Anwar was not subject to cross-examination.

Mr. Anwar’s lawyers, who have complained that the trial has not been conducted fairly, had sought to paint his accuser as a “consummate liar.” Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have criticized the trial. Condemnation has also come from Al Gore, the former U.S. vice president who, with Paul D. Wolfowitz, the former U.S. deputy secretary of defense, wrote in the Wall Street Journal last year that the trial “threatens not just Mr. Anwar but all those in Malaysia who have struggled for a freer and more democratic nation.” But for all his pessimism about his chances of acquittal, Mr. Anwar voices equal optimism about the opposition’s prospects in the next election: “Not if — when,” he said.

James Chin, a political scientist and director of the School of Arts and Social Sciences at Monash University Malaysia, said that a guilty verdict would lend credence to the opposition’s assertions that the trial was a government conspiracy. “If he gets a guilty verdict and a very harsh sentence, this will be a very good thing for the opposition,” Mr. Chin said. Bridget Welsh, an associate professor at Singapore Management University who specializes in Malaysian politics, said a guilty verdict would support the view that the government of Prime Minister Najib Razak “is so insecure that it has to use the judiciary against the opposition leader.”

While the opposition has often been beset by claims of disunity in its ranks, Mr. Anwar said the parties had been working to come up with a “clear platform” on key policies ahead of the election. “Our target is to win the elections,” Mr. Anwar said. “I’m very optimistic.” He said the opposition must present a coherent, united voice and emphasize its commitment to democratic reforms, and communicate its message to the public — something Mr. Anwar complained was difficult because of the government dominance of television and newspapers. Calls for greater protection of civil liberties have grown louder in Malaysia this year, and Mr. Najib has announced that he will undertake a series of legislative changes. But his actions have failed to satisfy the Malaysian Bar Council and other rights advocates, with many criticizing the government’s new Peaceful Assembly Act. Although the act would eliminate the need to obtain a police permit for protests, it would ban street demonstrations and require protesters to notify the police in advance.

Mr. Anwar, who said he would allow street protests if elected, said Malaysia has the ingredients for its own “Arab spring” if changes are not made. He said Malaysia was not comparable to Libya under Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s regime or Syria under President Bashar al-Assad. But, he said, “all the ingredients of a repressive regime, an authoritarian regime, are there.” As Mr. Anwar awaits the verdict, he said he would be traveling around the country, meeting members of the public to garner support for the opposition. He said that, if he is jailed, he believes the government “will just try and erase me as they did before in 1998, because they thought by just jailing me that Anwar’s role and future is erased for good.” But he left no doubt that he would not go quietly if convicted. In a courtroom speech delivered during the trial, he vowed that the “truth will eventually prevail.” “Come what come may,” he said, “I shall never surrender.” ~New York Times~

Dec 13 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today predicted that the general election would be held soon after his sodomy trial ends, saying that it was part of an elaborate plan to end his political career. The Opposition leader told reporters that he was “prepared for the best, but expected the worst” when asked what he thought the judge’s verdict would be on his case. “This is not coincidental, that the end of the case is going to coincide with (general) elections,” he said.

Responding to the prosecution’s closing submissions attacking his decision to testify via a statement from the dock, Anwar said he was using his trial to address the country’s flawed legal system. “The system is flawed. It is why I issued a statement from the dock. “It is not true that I have not adduced evidence to argue my case. I took a position through competent witnesses ... their only attempt is to demolish internationally-renowned doctors,” said Anwar, referring to foreign experts brought in by defence lawyers as witnesses for the case.

Complainant and star prosecution witness Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan has accused Anwar of sodomising him at the upmarket Desa Damansara Condominium in Damansara Heights here on June 26, 2008. But the PKR de facto leader has repeatedly denied this, and opened his defence case by calling the sodomy charge a trumped-up allegation masterminded by Najib. The former deputy prime minister said Najib wanted to end his political career and scupper Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) bid to take over federal government. The trial resumes on December 15 with the defence replying to the prosecution’s submissions. Trial judge Datuk Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah will then decide a date to deliver his decision on the case ~themalaysianinsider.com~

Datuk Hasan Ali refused today to state if his loyalties lie with PAS and Pakatan Rakyat (PR), stating instead he was only loyal to Allah and would cooperate with anyone championing Islam. The former Selangor PAS chief was removed from his post earlier this year after continued infighting which has continued, most recently with reports that the Gombak Setia assemblyman may be dropped from contesting the next general elections. The state executive councillor in charge of Islamic affairs said he was committed to uphold Islam, Malays and the institution of Malay monarchs.

“I am loyal to Allah. To mankind, in this context, I don’t like to use the term loyal, but cooperate. Closely cooperating to help them and they help me,” he told a press conference when asked if he would remain loyal to his party and coalition if they upheld the same principles. Hasan (picture) also said he would let “time and circumstance and my Islamic thinking” determine his course of action if PAS did not select him as an election candidate. “Anyone that brings Islam forward, I will support. It is not easy for anyone to leave any organisation based on Islam except if these three things are not defended,” he added.

He said it did not matter whether he was a candidate or not as “these obstacles will only make me more determined” in the fight to defend Islam. “I don’t need Selangor PAS to recognise me or even the PAS president to recognise me. I don’t need DAP or PKR to like me. What I need is Allah likes me,” he added. PAS denied yesterday Utusan Malaysia’s report that Hasan and former deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa will be dropped as candidates as discussions on candidates have not begun. Quoting unnamed sources, the Malay daily said he will be “removed” by Selangor PAS, with blessings from the PAS central committee.

The report follows Selangor PAS information chief Shaari Sungib’s remarks, published in several blogs, that Hassan did not garner enough nominations from PAS branches in the state. Hasan also said today he will be “loyal to any organisation and willing to work together on these three messages” when asked about PAS-Umno merger efforts in the name of Islamic and Malay unity. Widely seen as a religious conservative, Hasan has been at odds with the ruling Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government’s seemingly liberal policies on several occasions, most notably his push for a beer sale ban in the country’s most developed state earlier this year.

Utusan Malaysia last week sought to paint Hasan as the maker of an elusive match between Umno and PAS, claiming he was seen as a unifying factor for the Malay community in Selangor. The Umno-owned newspaper said the award of the “Datuk Paduka” title to Hasan over the weekend will play a role in “marrying” Umno and PAS. Since Election 2008, Umno has made repeated overtures to the Islamic party, claiming that a unification would guarantee the Malay community’s hold on political power. But PAS has repeatedly snubbed the efforts and expressed its commitment towards PR and their common aim to oust Umno and Barisan Nasional from Putrajaya. ~themalaysianinsider.com~

The award to Selangor exco member Datuk Dr Hasan Ali by the Sultan of Selangor is in recognition of PAS, the party said today. Selangor PAS deputy commissioner Khalid Samad said the Sultan of Selangor had previously given awards to one leader each from Pakatan Rakyat component parties PKR and the DAP. He said the Sultan had given the “Datuk Seri” title to Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim representing PKR, and the “Datukship” to Teng Chang Khim of the DAP. “This year, the ‘Datuk Mahkota’ title went to Datuk Dr Hasan Ali as the former PAS state commissioner is the highest-ranking PAS executive councillor,” he said.

Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia said yesterday that Hasan’s award in conjunction with the Sultan Selangor’s birthday will play a role in “unifying” Umno and PAS. Assistant chief editor Datuk Zaini Hassan, writing in his weekly column, said he was informed the Sultan recognises Hasan’s role and saw him as a unifying factor for the Malays in Selangor. “Whatever said in Utusan Malaysia by the assistant chief editor regarding Datuk Dr Hasan Ali as the only Malay who can unite Malays, that is his own views and for PAS, we want Malays to unite but we want them to unite based on clear policies (such as Islam, justice and truth) not on Malay nationalism,” said Khalid.

Hasan, who is in charge of the state’s Islamic affairs portfolio, previously defended a raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church in August, claiming there was proselytisation of Muslims on the premises. Widely seen as a religious conservative, Hasan has been at odds with the ruling PR state government’s seemingly liberal policies on several occasions, most notably his push for a beer sale ban in the country’s most developed state earlier this year. Hasan had lost badly in the recent PAS election as the Islamist party moved to embrace leaders like Khalid, who is also the Shah Alam MP, who is seen to represent a more progressive and inclusive brand of Islam.

Since Election 2008, Umno has continued to make advances towards the Islamist party on claims that a unification of the two would guarantee the Malay community’s hold on political power. However, PAS has repeatedly snubbed the efforts and expressed its commitment towards PR and their common aim to oust Umno and Barisan Nasional from Putrajaya. ~themalaysianinsider.com~

BN mendahului Pakatan Rakyat sekurang-kurangnnya tiga peratus dalam persaingan untuk mendapatkan sokongan anak muda dalam pilihan raya umum akan datang, demikian menurut institut kajian Zentrum Future Studies. Pengasas institut kajian itu, Prof Madya Dr Abu Hassan Hasbullah, berkata sebahagian besar sokongan itu diraih dari kalangan anak muda golongan Cina. "Jumlah kaum muda dalam demografi SPR adalah sehingga 68 peratus, bermakna kaum muda Cina secara total daripada 88 hingga 92 peratus menyokong Pakatan," katanya dalam wacana perdana pilihan raya umum ke-13 di Kota Bharu malam tadi.

Katanya lagi, sokongan di kalangan masyarakat Cina terhadap Pakatan, tanpa mengikut gender dan umur dianggarkan pada kadar 82 hingga 88 peratus. Bagi pengundi Melayu pula, ia kekal pada kadar 22 hingga 28 peratus, untuk memberi kelebihan sokongan 3 hingga 5 peratus kepada BN. Bagaimanapun, ia mungkin berubah pada saat-saat terakhir pilihan raya kerana golongan muda itu disifatkannya lebih berhati-hati dan lebih cakna kepada isu. "Bermaksud, Pakatan mampu memecut dan bentuk keseimbangan akibat sokongan kaum Melayu," katanya lagi. Menjelaskan bacaannya itu, Abu Hassan (tengah) berkata kaum muda Melayu lebih dekat dengan budaya popular manakala masyarakat Cina lebih dekat dengan isu-su ekonomi.

Oleh itu isu rasuah dan penyelewengan seperti yang dikaitkan dengan National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) juga akan memberi impak yang besar kepada komuniti Melayu, tambahnya. Ditemui selepas program anjuran kerajaan negeri Kelantan itu berakhir lewat malam tadi, Abu Hassan bagaimanapun enggan mendedahkan butiran kajian berkenaan kerana ia masih belum diterbitkan. Moderator program berkenaan, Profesor Madya Datuk Dr Mohammad Agus Yusoff turut memberikan pandangannya bahawa 60 peratus daripada kira-kira seramai tujuh juta pengundi muda hanya akan membentuk sikap terhadap kepada isu-isu tersebut dalam undian mereka pada saat terakhir. Perkara yang ditimbang oleh golongan ini melibatkan isu kebajikan – keadaan ekonomi, kos sara hidup dan peluang pekerjaan.

Sementara itu, wakil BN di wacana berkenaan, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah pula tetap yakin bahawa parti itu akan meraih sokongan daripada pengundi atas pagar. Katanya, BN telah berjaya memujuk pengundi yang memberikan undi protes dalam pilihan raya 2008 dan parti itu juga telah menyedari "realiti politik baru" yang perlu diharungi dalam pilihan raya umum akan datang. Timbalan menteri pengajian tinggi itu turut menyenaraikan usaha-usaha yang dijalankan parti pimpinan Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak untuk menunjukkan bahawa BN telahpun sedar, termasuk kempen 1Malaysia dan juga program transformasi yang dicanang.

Beliau turut mengulangi pandangan bahawa mood pengundi dalam 18 pilihan raya kecil juga telah berubah pada saat akhir. Mengulas data yang dikemukakan Zentrum, seorang lagi ahli panel, setiausaha agung PKR Saifuddin Nasution pula berkata parti itu terbuka dalam menerima apa juga kajian dan akan menggunakannya dalam menghadapi pilihan raya. "Kita tidak amalkan sindrom penafian," katanya yang mengambil data berkenaan sebagai cabaran kepada parti untuk memperbaiki peluangnya.

Beliau juga menerima bacaan daripada pelbagai sumber lain, namun apa yang lebih penting bagi PKR adalah sistem audit dalam parti. Audit berkenaan akan memberi gambaran sebenar kepada kekuatan parti dan masalah yang dihadapinya, katanya lagi ketika ditemui selepas program di Balai Islam, Lundang itu berakhir lewat malam semalam. Seorang lagi ahli panel yang turut mengambil bahagian dalam wacana yang disiarkan secara langsung melalui saluran web mykelantan.tv itu ialah pensyarah Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Prof Madya Dr Samsul Adabi Mamat. ~malaysiakini.com~

Anwar Ibrahim


Nik Aziz


Hadi Awang


Lim Kit Siang


Under attack from Umno at its annual congress, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) last night fell back on its administrative track record in four states to hammer home its claim that the ruling party has failed to improve the lot of Malaysians. Making full use of the alleged financial irregularities in a national cattle farming scheme and this year’s dip in Malaysia’s corruption score, PR leaders hit back at Umno in a concerted show of force after enduring five days of attacks during last week’s Umno general assembly.

Pulling no punches, a fiery Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim pointed out that Umno has doubly wronged the people by first misusing public funds meant for the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) and then defending Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil. The Wanita Umno chief, who is also the women, family and community minister, has been dogged by controversy over her family’s role in the NFC ever since the Auditor-General labelled the project in November as a “mess” for failing to meet production targets. PKR has alleged that Shahrizat’s husband, Datuk Mohamed Salleh Ismail, who runs the NFC, used a multi-million ringgit federal loan to pursue unrelated ventures — including a RM13.8 million condominium buy — as well as to fund personal expenses.

“Only those with no morals can hurl abuse (at Pakatan), can steal RM250 million... and then defend themselves. “Their first wrong was to misuse funds, and their second was to defend their actions,” Anwar told over 2,000 supporters who had gathered in the car park next to Malawati Stadium here despite the drizzle. The PKR de facto leader was joined by other top opposition leaders, including Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, Lim Kit Siang, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and Azmin Ali. Also present was national laureate Datuk A. Samad Said, who emerged as a fierce critic of the Najib administration earlier this year during the Bersih 2.0 rally for electoral reform.

PAS president Abdul Hadi similarly made reference to the NFC scandal in refuting Umno’s charge that the Islamist party was the DAP’s stooge and the MCA’s claim that the DAP was under the thumb of PAS. “PAS diperkudakan oleh DAP. DAP diperkudakan oleh PAS... Umno diperlembukan (PAS is being ridden like a horse by DAP. DAP is being ridden by PAS... Umno is made to look the cow),” he said to raucous laughter from the partisan crowd. “Lebih baik diperkuda daripada diperlembukan kerana kuda untuk perjuangan, lembu untuk disembelih (It’s better to be ridden like a horse than to be made to look the cow as horses are for fighting, cows are for slaughter).”

PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz had earlier turned Barisan Nasional’s (BN) accusations on its head, claiming instead that Umno had abandoned true Islamic principles on the MCA’s account. “Umno is forced to reject Islam because it wants to please MCA,” he said. Taking a different tack, Lim focused on Malaysia’s worsening score in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), noting that the country had fallen 13 places to 60th place since Datuk Seri Najib Razak took over as prime minister in 2009.

“Can Umno change? Can Umno change? We need to a change Umno. And to make change, we need to ensure that Datuk Seri Najib becomes the opposition leader after the 13th general election. “We can start a new... chapter (in the nation’s history) where there will be justice, freedom and prosperity for all Malaysians.” ~themalaysianinsider.com~

Anwar Ibrahim: Ceramah Perdana Air Hitam, Johor
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Mat Sabu: Ceramah Perdana Air Hitam, Johor
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Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that Pakatan Rakyat was now ready to form the federal government after helming five states following the landmark 2008 election. He said that if the electoral pact had taken Putrajaya three years ago “we may have been careless” but governing the states it won three years ago provided a “training ground” for the fledgling coalition. “The party has struggled and suffered not one or two years, but over 10 years. If in 1999 we had won, we were not ready,” the PKR de facto leader (picture) said of the election that followed immediately after his sacking as deputy prime minister.

“In 2008, it was our first test to form state government. If we had formed federal government, we may have been careless. It is a training ground. “We cleaned out the defectors, the dirty things from the party,” he added, referring to the six MPs and five assemblymen who have left PKR since the 12th General Elections. Two assemblymen who left PKR in February 2009 had caused the fall of PR’s Perak administration. Anwar said that three years ago, the party had “no strength in Sarawak... Sabah was a mess.”

The Permatang Pauh MP said gains made in April’s Sarawak state election, where it increased its representation from one to three assemblymen, showed the party is “now twice as strong as in 2008.” “This is the best opportunity since 1957. This is the best opportunity for the people to rise up and change the system. “If it is really clean and democratic before the election, it is certain Barisan Nasional will lose easily,” he said of polls that the opposition has insisted must only come after electoral reforms currently being discussed by a parliamentary select committee.

Anwar said this when closing PKR’s national congress here, likely to be its last before a crucial election expected soon. He led an electoral pact with DAP and PAS in 2008 which made record gains, denying Barisan Nasional (BN) its customary two-thirds majority of Parliament after a record 82 opposition MPs were elected. ~themalaysianinsider.com~

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Azmin Ali

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Khalid Ibrahim

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Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today that Pakatan Rakyat was now ready to form the federal government after helming five states following the landmark 2008 election. He said that if the electoral pact had taken Putrajaya three years ago “we may have been careless” but governing the states it won three years ago provided a “training ground” for the fledgling coalition. “The party has struggled and suffered not one or two years, but over 10 years. If in 1999 we had won, we were not ready,” the PKR de facto leader (picture) said of the election that followed immediately after his sacking as deputy prime minister.

“In 2008, it was our first test to form state government. If we had formed federal government, we may have been careless. It is a training ground. “We cleaned out the defectors, the dirty things from the party,” he added, referring to the six MPs and five assemblymen who have left PKR since the 12th General Elections. Two assemblymen who left PKR in February 2009 had caused the fall of PR’s Perak administration. Anwar said that three years ago, the party had “no strength in Sarawak... Sabah was a mess.”

The Permatang Pauh MP said gains made in April’s Sarawak state election, where it increased its representation from one to three assemblymen, showed the party is “now twice as strong as in 2008.” “This is the best opportunity since 1957. This is the best opportunity for the people to rise up and change the system. “If it is really clean and democratic before the election, it is certain Barisan Nasional will lose easily,” he said of polls that the opposition has insisted must only come after electoral reforms currently being discussed by a parliamentary select committee.

Anwar said this when closing PKR’s national congress here, likely to be its last before a crucial election expected soon. He led an electoral pact with DAP and PAS in 2008 which made record gains, denying Barisan Nasional (BN) its customary two-thirds majority of Parliament after a record 82 opposition MPs were elected. ~themalaysianinsider.com~