PKR roasted in London
Lim Kit Siang
The remarks sounded like fingernails being dragged across the blackboard. They were made by a member of the audience, at a dialogue with two PKR executive councillors (exco) from Penang. The questioner was straight and candid. He did not mince his words, and judging by the nods of approval, a majority of the audience, shared his sentiments.
In a forceful voice, the man said, “I think you, the opposition, have missed three times. You are not able to exploit the current conundrum in the country, because you are fractured.
“So, what are you going to do, in order to strengthen yourself for what has to be done? You have missed big time, because of your situation. That is the focus. How are you going to get together, and fight them?
“Removing Najib (Abdul Razak) is not that difficult, if you are strong. He survives, because you are weak.”
These sentiments must have been echoed in a similar fashion, by around 97 percent of opposition supporters, both in Malaysia and abroad; “Najib survives because you are weak”. The words must have stung, but the PKR exco members’ faces remained inscrutable.
Abdul Malik Abul Kassim, the assemblyperson for Batu Maung in Penang, and one of the PKR representatives at the dialogue, said that BN/Umno Baru had conspired to engineer the disintegration of Pakatan. PAS’ Hadi Awang was persuaded to accept the Trojan Horse, but then PAS was cheated by Umno Baru with the hudud issue.
He said, “If PAS had not broken up, the no-confidence vote would have been crucial. If PAS was with us, we would have been able to dictate, on our terms.
“Najib anticipated the break-up of PAS. Later, he jailed Anwar (Ibrahim). This is evident from the hasty conclusion of the final appeal.
“Anwar was jailed in February 2015. PAS broke-up in April/May 2015. 1MDB exploded after that. If both PAS and Anwar had been with us, we would not have got into this situation, and Najib would have been removed.”
Dr Afif Bahardin, the PKR assemblyperson for Seberang Jaya, said that PKR’s analysis of rural voters shows that the rural Malays are not interested in governance, but are keen to see a credible leader from Pakatan.
He said, “During the GE13 campaign period, Merdeka Centre polling showed that, in the first week, the Malay votes were with us. In the middle of the week, PAS Mustafa Ali stated that Anwar was not a suitable PM candidate, for Pakatan. His statement caused a drop in the Malay votes, which continued till the election, and showed in the election results.
“DAP and PKR had no issues with Anwar, but PAS was not agreeable.”
Abdul Malik added, “We told the voters that if we win the next general election, we will hold a judicial review. If Anwar is cleared, he will be the prime minister. PKR will assemble an election team which will win the confidence of the rakyat. It will include Azmin Ali, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and other leaders.”
