Zaid outlines Pakatan blueprint for change
Joe Fernandez, Malaysiakini
Pakatan Rakyat’s much-awaited Common Policy Framework (CPF) will be driven by the opposition alliance’s long-touted agenda for change and reform.
The agenda promises to restore the doctrine of separation of powers, checks-and-balances, public accountability, transparency and weed out abuse of power and exercises in absolute power.
These were the salient points stressed by senior PKR leader Zaid Ibrahim in an exclusive two-hour interview with Malaysiakini late last night in Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu.
“The CPF, once adopted, will become the manifesto of Pakatan,” said Zaid who has since taken six months sabbatical leave from his party, but not from PR.
“This is a historical draft CPF which will be finalised next week. It will be central to the political struggle of Pakatan and the reason why I left Umno and joined up.
“I am a Pakatan man and not so much with PKR although I had to join a component party to be in the opposition alliance.”
Zaid, a former Umno law minister who broke ranks with his party on law and other reform issues and corruption, confirmed that the draft CPF will be deliberated upon by Pakatan leaders and members at a meet scheduled in December in Kuala Lumpur.
The CPF will draw much of its input from Sabah and Sarawak and the separate manifestos of Pakatan component parties. Membership in Pakatan has so far been confined to PKR, DAP and Pas, the Islamic party, but may include new entrants as the coalition “continues reaching out to all sectors of society”.
Asked how the CFP varies from calls within Umno and Barisan Nasional to embrace the idea of change and reform, Zaid responded that “the leopard can’t be expected to change its spots”.
“Of course, Umno for example has introduced some change in their internal party processes but what about the mind-set of the leaders?” he asked rhetorically.
“We see no change whatsoever. It’s all cosmetics. The more things seem to change, the more they remain the same. They (Umno) will never change.”
