As more cracks form, Pakatan insists still held together by goals
(Malay Mail Online) – Pakatan Rakyat leaders today sought to allay growing concern that the pact was disintegrating following open spats, with heads of the three-party pact saying they remained steadfast in upholding the voters’ mandate.
In a brief statement issued this morning, the pact stressed that it is committed to pursuing its shared goals and to strengthen its bonds of understanding as well as political comradeship within the framework of its Common Policies.
“We are also committed to face this ongoing issue in a collective, brave and principled manner with our shared universal values as our core, to fulfil the trust and responsibility given by the rakyat,” read the statement jointly-issued by PKR de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and opposition veteran Lim Kit Siang in his capacity as DAP parliamentary head.
PR leaders recently admitted that the coalition is in a crisis after PAS turned its back on a plan to replace Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim with PKR President Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
It is understood that all three parties had initially agreed to the plan — which Anwar later revealed was an extension of the controversial “Kajang Move” that paved the way for Dr Wan Azizah to take the Kajang state seat and qualify for the post.
The plan went into a disarray, however, after senior PAS leaders — including Hadi and influential spiritual advisor Datuk Seri Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat — publicly backed Khalid, effectively retracting the party’s support for the proposed changing of Selangor’s mentri besar.
PR’s presidential council is scheduled to meet again on August 10 to discuss and come to a final decision on the issue.
Matters were exacerbated by a leaked text message conversation in which a PAS analyst outlined strategies that involved the Islamist party exiting the pact, either to team up with rivals Umno or to go it alone, among others.
The leaked “analysis”, as PAS is claiming it to be, further agitated its allies with its proposal for the party to return political power to Malay-Muslims in order to swat off demands from DAP and non-Muslims.
