Pakatan: No interest in revenge but…
If the opposition bloc takes Putrajaya, Pakatan will not embark on a vendetta against BN leaders, but at the same time, it will not spare the big fish who are guilty of corruption.
(FMT) – Pakatan Rakyat had vowed that it will not go on a witchhunt against Barisan Nasional leaders if the opposition bloc wins in the next general election.
However, this does not mean that Pakatan would not take action against alleged corruption.
“It has always been Pakatan’s ultimate goal to save Malaysia and bring in a clean, transparent and reform-minded government,” said PKR vice-president N Surendran.
“We have no intention of carrying out any kind of witchhhunt, but this does not mean that they [BN leaders] are not guilty of crimes and injustice. They certainly are,” he added.
Surendran said that offences, especially where corruption and criminal breach of trust (CBT) were concerned, would be dealt with.
The PKR leader was responding to Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga, who advised Pakatan not to go on a witchhunt against corruption if it formed the federal government.
Instead, she suggested the formation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which would look into recovering lost assets and grant amnesty to those who come clean.
PAS Kuala Selangor MP Dzulkefly Ahmad said that a Pakatan government would go after the biggest scandals, though it would offer amnesty to those at the lower levels.
“We’re only looking at the real big fish, the mother of all scandals. That one, we cannot forgive or compromise on. All the big fish, those who have squandered billions [we will go after],” he said.
At the same time, Dzulkefly said that Pakatan did not want to punish everyone.
Adding that Pakatan was more focused on governance and policy issues, he said that it was difficult for most people to go against a system, making some of them follow it.
“We’re not going after every Tom, Dick and Harry. We understand that some people are just victims of circumstances.
“Some are encouraged by the system, [so much so that] stealing and plundering becomes a culture from the lowest to the highest. Getting everyone will not be possible, so we’ll tackle the big fish,” he said.
A Pakatan federal government, Shah Alam MP (PAS) Khalid Samad said, would not protect corrupt politicians, especially where large-scale graft was concerned.
