Anwar says Pakatan should close ranks, cites Singapore example
By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wants Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties to close ranks like their opposition counterparts in Singapore, pointing out that this had helped the opposition make significant gains in Saturday’s polls in the city state.
“It is a good reminder to the PR that by closing ranks and setting aside personal differences, the opposition parties in Singapore have stepped up to the plate for political change,” Anwar (picture) said in a statement today.
The six opposition parties in Singapore managed to strike an agreement on seat distribution prior to the polls, ensuring that there would be no multi-cornered fights in Saturday’s contest.
As such, all but one seat — Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s Tanjung Pagar Group Representation Constituency (GRC) — were contested in the polls.
On Saturday, the opposition parties sailed to an unprecedented victory in six of 87 seats and snapped up a whopping 40 per cent of the popular votes, effectively loosening the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) grip in Parliament.
In comparison, Malaysia’s PR opposition front comprising Anwar’s PKR, the DAP and PAS failed to strike a similar compromise with Sarawak-based opposition party SNAP during the just-concluded state polls.
As a result, PKR squared off with SNAP in 26 of the 49 seats it contested, emerging victorious in only three seats in the April 16 polls. The clash caused a strain in ties between PKR and SNAP.
Anwar also observed that through the successful use of new media, the youth of Singapore managed to lead the charge towards “greater freedom and democracy”, helping the Workers’ Party in its contest.
“Again, as is happening elsewhere, the youth play an essential role in this transformation, harnessing the force of social networks and other alternative media and staying at the forefront to overcome the fear of change and chart the course for greater freedom and democracy,” Anwar said.
He added that despite the absence of a free media in Singapore, the opposition parties were still allowed a small window of opportunity to air their views on local television.
