Thesun 2008-12-01 Page04 Anwar Dismisses Cynics

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theSun

| MONDAY DECEMBER 1 2008

news without borders Bid to unseat BN govt

Anwar dismisses cynics by Maria J. Dass and Timothy Leonard [email protected]

SHAH ALAM: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday dismissed talks by cynics that his talk of taking over the government was just rhetoric, saying: “Insyallah, not long, we will be in Putrajaya.” Speaking at the closing of the 5th PKR national congress at the Malawati Stadium here, he said: “There will not be any buying (of MPs), there will not be any threats, there will not be any trips to Taipei to learn farming. That is not us, those are the actions of bankrupt politicians.” Speaking of the exploitation of the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak, especially the ancestral land exploitation issues, he said: “We are giving their leaders the option – are they going to continue supporting a system that insults the intelligence of their own people? “In the name of God, I trust the wisdom of my people, all Malaysians.” He said all this will be achieved by the

power of prayers. “Don’t underestimate the power of prayers because we can plan, we can work but the power of the prayers of people of all faiths should not be underestimated.” “We all believe in what is right and we leave it to God, and in a short time, hopefully, we will achieve what we want.” Anwar had told a public rally on Saturday that Sarawak will be their next battleground before the Pakatan Rakyat takes over the federal government He asked the party’s leaders to make weekly trips to Sarawak to meet its aim to unseat the BN government in the state. He stated this when explaining to those present why the Pakatan Rakyat could not meet its Sept 16 deadline to unseat the federal government. He further said the takeover did not materialise because a letter to negotiate the matter sent to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was not entertained by him. Another reason, he said, was that BN MPs wanting to defect had laid a condition that their names not be

Guan Eng: No plans to reshuffle exco

revealed until they were ready to do so. His call to take Sarawak however has got his cynics pooh-poohing his claims, Bernama reported. In Kuching, Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud questioned Anwar’s credibility, especially when his Sept 16 deadline to form a new government did not materialise. “I don’t want to comment on people like that. Well, his (Anwar’s) credibilty is not that high when he said Sept 16 is his target date which he promised to be the date to form a new government.” In Kota Kinabalu, Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek regarded PKR’s aim to capture Sarawak next year as yet another delusion of Mat Jenin, a dreamer in a popular Malay fable. He said after PKR failed to form the federal government on Sept 16 as promised, many people had lost their faith in the party. “I see the ‘Mat Jenins’ from the peninsula who failed to realise their big dream of forming the government on Sept 16, now trying again to win over the people.”

SHAH ALAM: Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s 5th national congress debate wrap-up yesterday was splattered with a little intensity and a dose of comic relief when supreme council member N. Gobalakrishnan took to the stage. He almost had a wardrobe malfunction when his veshti (lower cloth of traditional Indian costume) seemed to come loose while he was delivering his speech. This was minutes after the Padang Serai parliamentarian declared he was prepared to don the Iban traditional costume after having worn a baju Melayu to the congress on Saturday. Clutching the piece of cloth tied around his waist, Gobalakrishnan was struggling to tighten it as his colleagues on stage and those in the audience chuckled. He said he had worn the baju Melayu to be one with the majority group at the congress but stressed that this in no way meant that the rights of the minority will be ignored. “Anyone who wants to violate the rights of the minority will have to do it over our dead body,” he said. Earlier, he asked the delegates to give Anwar time to achieve the party’s plans of taking over the government. “It took us 10 years to get here, and just like rice that has been cooking for 10

ORIENTALPIX

Delegate provides comic relief at congress

Anwar and wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail laugh at the antics of a delegate. years, we should not eat it straight away or we will burn our mouth. We have to wait for the rice to cool before putting it into our mouths, so just like this we should give Anwar time to take over Putrajaya.” PKR strategy director Saifuddin Nasution said PKR members should start working towards winning the next general election. “In Kelantan alone, there are 206,000 voters aged above 21 years who have not registered,” he said, adding PKR must also be ready to face the knowledge-based vot-

SHAH ALAM: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said yesterday he has no plans to reshuffle the executive councillors’ portfolios and will leave it to Parti Keadilan Rakyat to decide on the deputy chief minister (1) post, now held by Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin. “Any proposal for a change should come from PKR. For now, we have not received any feedback from PKR.” He was responding to talk that Mohammad Fairus from PKR would be dropped and Seberang Jaya assemblyman Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah had been offered the position. Asked if he was satisfied with Mohammad Fairus’s performance in the exco, Lim said: “Everyone has room for improvement. We are all able to believe that we can do better, want to be better and we all can’t be too self-satisfied.” He was speaking to reporters after attending the 5th PKR National Congress in Shah Alam. On rumours that Arif Shah may cross over from Umno to Pakatan Rakyat, Lim said he has not received any notice of this but welcome anyone who shared the principles of the alliance, like respect for justice and rule of law, human rights and socio-economic justice. “I’m making a very general statement,” he said, adding Arif may cross over as he does not have the support of his own party colleagues. On Pakatan Rakyat’s aim to

wrest Sarawak from Barisan Nasional and how the three parties – PAS, DAP and PKR – are going to work together especially in terms of seat allocation, Lim said: “We are moving in (to Sarawak) and will work together, but the question of seat allocation is too premature as the Sarawak elections are still a long way off.” Talk of taking over Sarawak and wresting the state back from Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud has been rife during this congress with several Sarawakian delegates bringing up alleged injustices by Abdul Taib during his 27-year reign, including the sidelining of the rights and interest of the indigenous communities. During the debate on the motion for education, Sarawak delegate Baru Bien said: “In my younger days I used to walk five hours to school and stay there, only returning five days later. Today the situation is pretty much the same and the schools are run-down too and we hope that a change in the government will mean better schools.” Bien also said the land rights of the indigenous people had been greatly eroded as the state government had given out millions of acres to quarries, oil palm plantations and logging companies. “We have been asking of these lands to be gazetted for a long time but to no avail,” he said. He claimed those who spoke up were detained by the police.

Explain presence at PKR meet, Zaid told ers who will be looking out for candidates with good performance and consistency. Saifuddin said towards this each PKR branch has a role to play, however small. Supreme council member Christina Liew said it was time for the people in Sabah and Sarawak to change their governments after years of oppression where their customary land was given to timber companies and plantations among others. “If you don’t do this, soon the last inch of your land will also go.”

KOTA KINABALU: Former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim must explain his presence at Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s national congress in Shah Alam on Saturday to Umno’s disciplinary board before action is taken against him, Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday. Muhyiddin said Zaid’s presence at the congress was not the first time he had attended a gathering by the Opposition and this proved his disloyalty to Umno. “It doesn’t make sense that he

attended a gathering of the Opposition. This (Zaid’s presence) is seen as giving moral support to the Opposition. “He must explain why he went to the congress. He has to be responsible for his actions.” According to the Malaysian Insider website, Zaid claimed he is still an Umno member and does not see the Opposition as enemies. He said his presence at the congress showed that he is still interested in politics and does not expect to be sacked from Umno. – Bernama