PKR President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim speaks during during a special press conference regarding the party yesterday. – Bernama photo
KUCHING (March 17): Four opposition MPs and a senator have urged Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to strengthen the opposition bloc instead of making overtures to political rivals with questionable credentials.
In a joint statement, the MPs Baru Bian, Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, and Senator Liew Chin Tong urged Anwar to strive for cooperation with those that share common ideals to restore the country’s economic health after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Facing this challenge, we urge Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to strengthen the Opposition bloc and reject any cooperation with kleptocrats. Any cooperation with any party must be built based on this principle,” the five said today.
Baru is Parti Sarawak Bersatu presidential council member. He was formerly with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
Salahuddin is Parti Amanah Negara deputy president and Liew is Democratic Action party (DAP) national political education director. Both are members of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition that includes PKR.
Azis is Parti Warisan Sabah Youth chief which is allied to PH while Syed Saddiq is Ikatan Demokratik Malaysia co-founder.
They urged the PKR president to reject any cooperation with parties in the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) and those they described as “kleptocrats”, without naming anyone in particular.
“Malaysia has undergone a year of failures by the Perikatan Nasional administration. Facing this administrative incompetence and economic management during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Opposition bloc needs to cooperate among parties and MPs to bring about an agenda to restore the country,” they said.
They claimed that in terms of economical, health, and political crises, the PN government has not shown a clear direction or produced plans to that effect.
“This should be utilised by the Opposition bloc by forming a coalition based on the rakyat-centric agenda.
“As PN has failed to prove its competence and willpower, the bloc must take it upon themselves to show leadership by arranging for policies and initiatives aimed at helping the rakyat at large,” the five lawmakers said.
Anwar had announced on Tuesday that discussions between PKR and Umno on an alliance before the next general election were ongoing, but that “nothing has been formalised yet”.
Anwar had said there were common objectives between PKR and Umno on such issues as Bumiputera privileges, the monarchy and religion.
He also said several Umno MPs supported the talks, although the party itself had not made a decision on any alliance.
The post Five reps, including Baru, urge Anwar to strengthen opposition, reject ‘kleptocrats’ appeared first on Borneo Post Online.