Pakatan died because PAS could not be trusted
“The new Pakatan Rakyat must not repeat the mistakes of Pakatan Rakyat which died an early death because of the lack of trustworthiness of one of its component parties.”
(Malay Mail Online) – Lim Kit Siang cautioned DAP’s political allies today against repeating the same mistakes of the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact when they form their new coalition.
In a statement here, the DAP adviser reminded his political comrades that PR ended because of disunity propagated by the failure of one component member to adhere to the pact’s common policy framework.
“The new Pakatan Rakyat to be established after the formation of a new Islamist party from Gerakan Harapan Baru ― whether we call it New PR, PR 2.0, Harapan Rakyat or any other name ― must not repeat the mistakes of Pakatan Rakyat which died an early death because of the lack of trustworthiness of one of its component parties,” he said.
Lim was responding to PAS deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man’s call for the revival of the opposition amid the ongoing controversies plaguing the government, namely the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fiasco and the RM2.6 billion donation found in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s accounts.
The Gelang Patah MP agreed with Tuan Ibrahim on the need to unite all possible opposition forces for the sake of political change but told the leader that this cannot be done just for “unity sake” if no clear set of common political principles and objectives are first outlined.
He reminded Tuan Ibrahim of how PR ceased to exist, citing as one example how PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang violated decisions made by the pact’s presidential council.
PR was declared dead in June after PAS agreed during its muktamar to sever ties with the DAP over a number of key ideological differences, such as both parties’ differing stands on the implementation of hudud, among other issues.
The pact’s demise led to the formation of Gerakan Harapan Baru, a movement by leaders from PAS’s DAP-friendly progressive faction who were ousted during their internal party polls.
The movement hopes to register as a new political entity next month under a new name and is expected to be PAS’s replacement in a new opposition pact that will include DAP and PKR.
