Anwar wanted national reconciliation, not unity government, wife says

(Malay Mail Online) – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim never supported the idea of forming a unity government with Umno, his wife and Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said today.

She said the PKR de facto leader had wanted to work out a national reconciliation plan with Barisan Nasional (BN) for the well-being of the country.

“Not a unity government, but national reconciliation plan as announced by Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the past.

“But this did not work out, he (Najib) went back on his word,” Dr Wan Azizah told a news conference here.

This morning, PKR issued a strong denial refuting PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s claim that Anwar had been keen on the idea of forming a unity government with Umno.

The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lynchpin party also said it has no intention to get dragged into PAS’ internal issues.

Yesterday, Abdul Hadi was quoted in The Malaysian Insider as claiming that the idea of teaming up with Umno in a unity government had received the blessings of Anwar and the late PAS leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

“The idea came about during the Perak constitutional crisis. At the time, there was an attempt by Barisan Nasional to woo Pakatan Rakyat reps.

“None of us wanted to join BN. We don’t want history to repeat itself.

“That’s why we came up with the unity government idea — all parties in one government,” he was quoted saying.