PR leaders not dejected by defeat
(Harakah Daily) – KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 18: Having been defeated in Sarawak last Saturday, Pakatan Rakyat’s top leaders said that although they lost the election and failed to deny BN’s two-third majority as widely predicted, PR has nevertheless made inroads into what was once BN’s stronghold.
“The undeniable fact throughout the campaign period, with lack of resources and commitment to conduct a clean campaign, is that Pakatan Rakyat has successfully made inroads in rural areas, which have always been known as Barisan Nasional’s stronghold,” said Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in a statement.
PR said it had ended the belief that Sarawak was BN’s ‘fixed deposit’ owing to its history of big wins in the state. In the recent polls, it doubled its share of the Sarawak state assembly from 7 to 15, 12 of which from DAP and three for PKR. PAS however lost in all the fives seats it contested, although the Islamic party registered an increase in popular votes and managed to keep election deposits.
Sarawak’s embattled chief minister Taib Mahmud’s PBB party however retained all the 35 seats it contested.
Anwar conceded that the Sarawak election was proof that the struggle for justice beyond race and ethnicity “is not an easy task, but it is also not impossible.”
“Although we did not get the results we wanted, we have managed to plant political seeds so that the people of Sarawak would ditch narrow racist politics, have the courage to fight tyranny which have suppressed them and put efforts to strengthen democracy,” added Anwar.
“To all the people of Sarawak and Pakatan Rakyat’s machineries, I would like say thank you… With Allah’s consent, our victory shall come,” he said.
PAS’s Murshidul Am Tuan Guru Nik Aziz, said he was happy with the party’s performance after garnering increased popular votes compared to the 2006 election.
