“What doesn’t break you only makes you stronger”. The phrase serves as a guide for the ousted Perak Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government as they move on from one gruelling battle to the next to regain power. And if anyone should think that the coalition no longer has any fight left in them, then they are far from right. The events of the Oct 28 sitting has done nothing to dampen the spirits of the PR brigade. In fact, according to the troop’s general, former Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, they were now even more inspired to persevere. Next week, top PR leaders will congregate to discuss their next course of action, which Nizar says will encompass taking on their political foes “in a different realm this time”.
“Whatever obstruction the Barisan Nasional (BN) dares to impose upon us only makes us more and more determined. “In fact, we have become stronger, we have become wiser — it is from these trying times that we draw our greatest strengths from. They cannot break our unified front,” he told The Malaysian Insider today. Nizar admitted that support for the Perak PR was waning as many felt the ousted government should just lay down arms and wait for the next general election to launch its attack against BN. He has, however, chosen to look at the advice in a different manner, saying that such belief was born out of sympathy over the violent injustices inflicted upon PR assemblymen. “They are saying that because they are feeling sympathy for us. They are worried for our safety. They have seen what was done to us and they are aware of all the persecutions we have had to endure,” said Nizar.
He said PR lawmakers would not be disheartened by such comments but were instead proud that their supporters sympathised with them and were willing to accept it if their leaders loosened their ties and called it a day. “But we cannot stop this fight — it will go on. We want to change the political landscape, not just in Perak but in all of Malaysia. “Perak is very important because we can set the example for all the other states, which are now taking hard hits from BN,” he said. Nizar said that PR could not afford to take a break from the fight or even sneak a swig of water when the half-time whistle is blown. He knows the people may forget. They may forget how the government was “stolen”; how the PR’s Speaker V. Sivakumar had been forcible removed from the Speaker’s chair on May 7; how the police had supposedly manhandled the opposition before Wednesday’s sitting; and most important of all, they may forget how well the PR had done when they held on to government for 10 months last year.
This is why, Nizar said, the PR assemblymen had continued spreading their wings across the state through countless ceramahs and dinners, making sure the people remembered. “Yes, support is waning. But we need to prevent that. We need to remind the people of why we are fighting and whom we are fighting for. “We need to tell them, explain to them, keep them informed of the violence we have had to endure and why we cannot just give up and let go,” he said. Nizar noted that PR’s fight was not a selfish one, for they were not in the battle to regain control of the state. “What we want is to return democracy to Perak. To give the people back their right to choose their own government. I am not here because I want (Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr) Zambry (Abd Kadir) to leave the mentri besar’s room so I can sit there,” he said.
Despite his bravado however, it is clear that Nizar, like most of the other PR assemblymen, are tired of fighting. Not because they have lost their spirit but simply because they feel they have had no choice but to walk into most battles with their eyes closed. A former state executive councillor Thomas Su said that the PR assemblymen may seem strong on the outside, but were really humans inside, too. “It is quite scary to walk into something without knowing what the outcome would be. On Wednesday (during the sitting), we did not know what they had planned for us. We did not know how we would walk out of there — whether we would be safe or hurt.
Batu MP Tian Chua was today jailed six months and fined RM3,000 after he was found guilty by the magistrate's court of biting a police constable and preventing the officer from discharging his duty in December 2007. Chua, 46, whose full name is Chua Tian Chang, committed the offence against PC Rosyaidi Anuar, 21, in front of Parliament House in the incident on Dec 11, 2007. Chua, the PKR strategic director, was charged under Section 332 of the Penal Code and could have been jailed up to three years.
He faces the possibility of losing his parliamentary seat as the fine exceeds RM2,000. Chua was granted a stay of execution pending appeal. Chua committed the offence during a Bersih gathering to protest against constitutional amendments extending the retirement age of Election Commission members from 65 to 66. Earlier, magistrate Mohd Faizi Che Abu said he found Chua not to be a credible witness as his defence was a mere denial. In an immediate response, Chua said the judgment was not fair as the judge and prosecution had relied on the evidence of the constable and based it on circumstantial evidence. "It did not prove the biting took place," the MP said.
PKR Batu lawmaker Tian Chua said today his team of lawyers will appeal in 14 days his conviction by the Magistrate’s Court today for biting a police constable’s ear, in a bid to keep his MP post. The 46 year-old was sentenced to a six-month jail term and a fine of RM 3,000 for the offence committed on policeman Rosyaidi Anuar during a protest organised by poll reform group Bersih in front of Parliament two years ago. Should he lose his appeal, the country is set to stage the 10th by-election since Election 2008, and the first to be held in the country’s capital city. The Batu MP was charged under Section 332 of the Penal Code and could have been incarcerated up to three years.
When approached by reporters outside the court, Chua insisted on his innocence, saying that the conviction by magistrate Mohd Faizi Che Abu was unfair as he and the prosecution had relied solely on proof given by the constable, and was therefore based on circumstantial evidence. Appearing calm and composed in Parliament later, Chua said the conviction will not affect anything and that it was business as usual for him. “I will continue to serve the people and perform my duty as the people’s representative,” he told reporters in Parliament. “The work of Bersih to pursue reform in the electoral system to ensure that free and fair elections takes place will also go on,” added a smiling Chua. The PKR leader is member of the Bersih steering committee.
In a move to calm fears among its supporters that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was yielding to a resurgent Umno and its own differences, the coalition’s leaders announced dates for its inaugural convention in December where it hopes to unveil its common platform. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim played down the troubles that have plagued his own PKR and among the PR parties , and promised to reveal soon the coalition’s common platform. Umno and other BN parties have successfully taken advantage of PR’s lack of cohesiveness to paint the coalition as one which has too many ideological differences to take federal power.
Anwar, after chairing the coalition’s meeting in Parliament here today, said 1,500 delegates – 500 each from PKR, DAP and PAS – will be attending the two-day convention that begins on Dec 12. He said the pact had been working hard to draft a common platform. “We will reveal it in the nearest time,” said Anwar, who is also the parliamentary opposition leader. No details on the progress of the draft have been given so far. The Permatang Pauh MP, however, said the common platform could be seen in the party’s streamlined approach to debating the Budget to be tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak this Friday. “All the party whip chiefs have been instructed to work with MPs on the debate so that we can increase and strengthen the quality of our debate on the Budget,” said Anwar.
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