While criticisms from some quarters of Pakatan Rakyat supporters greeted the sight of parliamentary opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in jovial mode with prime minister Najib Razak during Monday's parliamentary opening, a former cabinet member lauded the two leaders' gesture as part of civility.
"At a time when the nation is festering with racial distrust and even hatred in some quarters, the leaders of both factions share the responsibility of cooling things down.
"The rakyat is tired of listening to endless recriminations, accusations and shouting matches. They want to start hearing positive news. They want a good exchange of policy statements that’s conducted in a civilised manner so they can appreciate the wonderful things that we have in the country," said former minister in the Prime Minister's Department turned opposition supporter, Zaid Ibrahim.
He was responding to several pictures of Anwar and Najib posing together and exchanging jokes while seated for a meal together with other BN leaders at the parliament house.
Some pro-UMNO blogs have however interpreted this as the PR leadership's hypocrisy, and argued that its supporters who were protesting outside the parliament building against electoral fraud had been cheated.
But Zaid welcomed the 'friendliness' shown by the two foes, saying if it was genuine, it could address the country's politics of hate which will be "an immense relief to all of us".
Zaid called on Anwar to follow-up the gestures by making more courtesy calls on the PM.
"A lot can be achieved by talking to one another whereas nothing would be gained by endless fighting in or outside of Parliament. The Prime Minister would be hard-pressed to reject such overtures and there is no reason for him to do so, the coming UMNO General Assembly notwithstanding," said Zaid.
Zaid, a former Kota Bharu member of parliament, said a "friendly mode" during parliamentary sessions would reduce distrust and lessed offensive criticism, ultimately leading to better policies and laws.
"I dare both leaders to take this first step towards bringing civility to our politics," Zaid said. -HD
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Anwar-Najib friendly gesture a step in the right direction?
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Anwar Ibrahim acknowledged Monday that his Malaysian opposition would have to bite the bullet and work with a ruling coalition he calls illegitimate, while pledging a sustained fight for electoral reform.
ReplyDeletePrime Minister Najib Razak's Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition won May 5 elections but the opposition, which gained more than half the popular vote, has said ruling-coalition fraud cost them victory.
ReplyDeleteAnwar has rejected the outcome and led a series of rallies denouncing it as fraudulent, raising the spectre of prolonged instability over the bitter elections, the closest the 56-year-old ruling coalition ever came to losing.
ReplyDeleteBut he said his three-party opposition would participate in parliament "as a reality for now" while continuing to question the government's legitimacy.
ReplyDelete"Of course we have to move on, but that does not mean we should accept the fraud," he told AFP in an interview.
ReplyDelete"They stole the election from us," he said.
The opposition says voter rolls were full of irregularities, enabling the ruling coalition to sway results in closely fought seats. Supposedly indelible ink introduced to prevent multiple voting easily washed off.
ReplyDeleteThe government has admitted "problems" with the ink -- which it had touted as proof of its commitment to fair polls -- but has rejected charges of cheating.
ReplyDeleteThe election was seen as the first in which Barisan Nasional, which has governed tightly since independence in 1957, faced possible defeat.
ReplyDeleteBarisan has developed Malaysia's economy, but many analysts say the country is losing its competitive edge. The opposition has blamed corruption and repressive tactics by Barisan, and pledged to free up society and improve governance.
ReplyDeleteThe opposition plans to file petitions in some 30 constituencies challenging the results. If won, they say it would give them control of parliament.
ReplyDeleteBut such petitions rarely succeed and the opposition has failed to produce evidence of widespread fraud.
ReplyDeleteAnwar said the opposition would focus on pushing for reform of an electoral system widely seen as unfairly favouring Barisan.
Over the weekend, Najib said a bipartisan special parliamentary panel would be set up to oversee the Election Commission to fight perceptions it is biased.
ReplyDeleteAnwar dismissed the move as a "trick" to stall real reform.
ReplyDeleteAnwar was once heir-apparent to Barisan until a power struggle saw him ousted in 1998 and jailed for six years on sodomy and corruption charges widely viewed as trumped-up.
He had pledged to step aside as leader if the opposition lost but said those plans remain on hold.
ReplyDelete"We have to settle the last elections. If they correct the election process, then I'm prime minister," he said.
A “BN+” formula is in the making that will dramatically change the political landscape of the country.
ReplyDeleteUnder the proposed formula, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PKR will lend their support to Barisan Nasional, and in return will get favour from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
But an outline of the plan has already been making the rounds and, according to the source, PKR will not join BN but will support Najib and his ruling coalition.
ReplyDeleteIn return, Najib will appoint Anwar and or his loyalists into government positions.
ReplyDeleteIf the arrangement works out, it will give Najib the flexibility and ease of hiring anyone from PKR into the government or government-linked posts, including ministerial positions.
ReplyDelete“He will not face the hassle of seeking the approval of Umno or BN supreme council. He can also easily fire these people,” said the source.
ReplyDeleteThe best part of the deal is that Najib will have the support of a major bloc in the opposition. Thus, he will have a strong mandate to carry out the transformation programmes he has in mind.
ReplyDeleteFor Anwar, the deal will save his political career because at 66, having lost his best chance to topple BN during the 13th general election, he knows there is a very slim chance of him becoming prime minister. Besides, his Sodomy II case is still pending.
ReplyDeleteThe source said that Anwar is warming up to the formula because he sees it as an opportunity to take PKR out of the orbit of its deputy president Azmin Ali.
ReplyDeleteAnwar is said to have lost “control” of Azmin, who is mobilising his troops to oust party president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail during the upcoming party polls.
ReplyDeleteAzmin was sore with Wan Azizah over the issue of the Selangor menteri besar’s post in the aftermath of the GE13. Wan Azizah had written a letter to the Sultan of Selangor on the candidate for menteri besar.
ReplyDeleteSubsequently, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was reappointed as menteri besar.
ReplyDeleteAzmin accused Azizah of not consulting with the party’s state assemblymen before sending the letter to the ruler. Azmin was reportedly also eyeing the post.
ReplyDeleteNow if Azmin gains the upper hand, Anwar faces the prospect of losing his grip on PKR. Besides, he is staring at another stint in jail if he loses the Sodomy II case.
ReplyDeleteThe BN+ formula gives Anwar the chance of striking a deal with BN and thus bringing PKR into the BN fold and keeping Azmin shut out.
ReplyDelete“Given this circumstance, Anwar is now open to the idea of extending an olive branch to the Umno-led BN,” said the source.
ReplyDeleteThe first sign that the opposition leader is opening up to the BN government was when he delivered his Merdeka Day message. He said Pakatan Rakyat – the opposition coalition – will accept the GE13 results.
ReplyDeleteThis was a departure from his earlier non-compromising stance which led to the Black 505 nationwide rallies to protest the results of the polls.
ReplyDelete“Unity government” has also been bandied about. News of this proposal first emerged after the GE13 when it was reported that just before the polls, Najib and Anwar had met in Jakarta to reach an understanding that both sides would refrain from personal attacks during campaigning.
ReplyDeleteThe deal, which eventually collapsed, was said to have been brokered by former Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla.
ReplyDeleteSubsequently, rumours surfaced of Najib-Anwar talks about setting up a unity government – a political speak for both parties to set aside their differences and work together. Najib has since rubbished the talk.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, political observers have noted Anwar’s muted – or even absence of – attacks against the government.
ReplyDelete“This is because he is paving the way for PKR’s entry into BN,” said an observer.
Such a move is not without precedent. In 1996, Semangat 46, led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, was dissolved and its members joined Umno en bloc.
ReplyDeletePKR members are mostly former Umno members who left following the sacking of Anwar as deputy prime minister in 1998.
ReplyDeleteIf PKR’s entry into BN comes to pass (whether as a component party or en bloc admission into Umno), Pakatan is looking at a possible collapse.
ReplyDeleteThis is because Anwar has been the glue that binds the ideologically-opposed DAP and PAS together all this while.
ReplyDeleteOpposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says he is ready to engage with Barisan Nasional to solve urgent issues facing Malaysians in the spirit of Merdeka.
ReplyDeleteDespite his earlier objections to the results of the May 5 general election, Anwar, in a press statement on Friday in conjunction with Merdeka Day, said the Pakatan Rakyat coalition was ready to set aside differences with Barisan for the sake of the future and well being of the country.
ReplyDelete"We believe that it is important for the Prime Minister to immediately hold a roundtable discussion between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat to solve various issues and come out with a unanimous solution," he said.
ReplyDeleteHe said Merdeka Day should be celebrated by giving credit where it's due and not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
ReplyDelete"The Merdeka spirit is not just about tolerance or compromise. It is about greater understanding, accepting our differences and our similarities as well as moving forward as a nation to face the challenges ahead of us," he said.
ReplyDeleteSix million of the 7.3 million applications for the government aid, Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M), have been processed by the Inland Revenue Board, said Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.
ReplyDeleteHe said out of the total number, 4.1 million had received the BR1M last year while the other 3.2 million were new applicants.
ReplyDeleteonly applicants who registered on or before last Dec 31 would receive the payment this February while those who registered after that date, would receive theirs at a date to be fixed later.
ReplyDeleteHe said the BR1M would not only benefit the recipients, but would also have a positive economic impact on the local community.
ReplyDeleteThe BR1M payment this year involves an allocation of RM3 billion.
ReplyDeleteThe lucrative tourism industry continues to be one of Sabah’s major income earners as Sabah increased its target arrivals by 1.1 per cent totaling 2.875 million visitors compared to 2011.
ReplyDeleteThe lucrative tourism industry continues to be one of Sabah’s major income earners as Sabah increased its target arrivals by 1.1 per cent totaling 2.875 million visitors compared to 2011.
ReplyDeleteInternational arrivals recorded an overall positive growth of 11.3 per cent with double digit growth from China and Hong Kong (44.3%) and South Korea (26.1%).
ReplyDeleteEuropean arrivals especially from the United Kingdom and Ireland (growth of 39.9%) were also making a comeback to Sabah, indicating confidence in long-haul travelling and strong focus on nature-based tourism, Sabah’s stronghold in the industry.
ReplyDeleteDomestic tourism remained as the main contributor making 67% of the total arrivals or 1.933 million to Sabah in 2012.
ReplyDelete