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Showing posts with label Anwar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anwar. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

From villain to ‘King Zahid’ to gain powers that corrupt absolutely


 villain

 "Are we supposed to forget what they said during the campaign? Whatever principles left in politics has been thrown out of the window” - Dr Azmi Omar. 

Ahmad Zahid has been caricatured as “King Zahid” and wearing a crown, with leaders of the two coalitions on their knees, begging for his support.

 Umno was painted as racist and corrupt beyond repair and Ahmad Zahid was vilified as a bandit, thief and kleptocrat.

Yet, both Anwar and Muhyiddin were going all out to get Umno onboard. It is unbelievable how principles have been compromised to gain power.

 A WEEK is a long time in politics and this could be the longest week ever as Malaysians wait to know who will be the next prime minister.

It is also a terribly confusing time with conflicting news reports about who has the magic number of 112 MPs as well as unverified claims that Pakatan Harapan leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had been appointed the 10th prime minister.

Finally, Anwar himself cleared the air outside the Palace gates, quipping that the post was still “vacant”.

Anwar, looking every inch the prime minister he is aspiring to be, was upbeat and it is quite evident that Pakatan, as the biggest coalition with 81 seats, has been given first option to try to form a government.

It is not an easy task and Malaysians will be on the edge of their seats for a few more days.

The irony of ironies is that Barisan Nasional, the biggest loser, has become the kingmaker that both Anwar and Muhyiddin are desperately wooing.

Barisan, with 30 MPs, was deeply divided. Some wanted Pakatan, some preferred Perikatan Nasional and some wanted to accept the opposition role.

The Barisan supreme council, which met yesterday, decided that whatever happens, the coalition will move as one.

Barisan deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan’s stand is that the coalition is ready to be a responsible opposition.

“Let Pakatan and Perikatan proceed to form the government since they won the most votes. We are prepared to be the opposition and to check-and-balance the new government,” said the Rembau MP.

He said his coalition respects the democratic process and the fact that voters had chosen Pakatan and Perikatan.

The election results showed that voters did not want Umno in the government. They had given Pakatan 81 seats and Perikatan 73 seats.

Moreover, the Umno base had imploded in anger over their president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s earlier push to go with Pakatan.

The Umno base dislikes DAP and has been long weary of Anwar.

“We lost half our votes to PAS because we could not defend Zahid. We will lose the remaining half if we work with Pakatan and we will be swallowed if we join Perikatan,” said an Umno politician from Kelantan.

The advantage of going with Pakatan is that there would be no overlapping interests in terms of the support base.

On the other hand, being part of Perikatan has been compared with selling “goreng pisang” or fried bananas to the same Malay kampung, that is, fighting over the Malay market share.

The long and short of it is that voters, including the Malays, rejected Umno and it would be shameful to sneak back into government by the backdoor.

The fierce horse-trading has been a rude awakening for many Malaysians.

The party that Pakatan and Perikatan had condemned throughout the campaign was being courted as though it is a beautiful virgin bride.

Umno was painted as racist and corrupt beyond repair and Ahmad Zahid was vilified as a bandit, thief and kleptocrat.

Yet, both Anwar and Muhyiddin were going all out to get Umno onboard.

It is unbelievable how principles have been compromised to gain power. At least with Mahathir in 2018, they laid the cards on the table for voters to choose.

“But this time, they said no ‘kluster mahkamah’, they campaigned against corruption. We voted for one thing, but they were going to give us something else,” said Dr Thor Teong Ghee, the CEO of a charity healthcare centre in Penang.

Ahmad Zahid has been caricatured as “King Zahid” and wearing a crown, with leaders of the two coalitions on their knees, begging for his support.

It must be said that although Muhyiddin reached out to Umno, he drew the line on working with Ahmad Zahid.

In Perak, Umno and DAP supporters are still reeling with shock over the new Umno-Pakatan state government. The two parties were going at each other tooth and nail, but are now cuddling in bed.

“Are we supposed to forget what they said during the campaign? Whatever principles left in politics has been thrown out of the window,” said political commentator Dr Azmi Omar.

Just days ago, the Umno campaign had slammed DAP as racist and anti-Malay.

Perak DAP chief Nga Kor Ming, on his part, had jokingly told a ceramah: “Buy one, free one. Vote for Barisan, get Zahid for free.”

Now that the joke has become reality, Pakatan supporters are scrambling to do damage control and justify the U-turn.

“Democracy has a way of humbling those who talk big. Some say it is hypocritical but what we are seeing now is realpolitik,” said senior fellow at ISIS, Eddin Khoo.

Even PKR superstar and Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli was not spared.

He had declared that he would be the first to speak out if Anwar tried to work with Ahmad Zahid. A photograph of him shaking hands with Ahmad Zahid at the Pakatan-Barisan meeting yesterday drew a flood of comments.

Putrajaya is a glittering dream and politicians will do anything to achieve the dream.

But the onus is not on the loser to help form the government. Barisan was rejected by voters, it belongs on the opposition bench.

The onus is on the big winners to work together and sort out the mess.

The views expressed here are entirely the writer's own 

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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Bersih 3: 'Hand Gesture Politics' to 'Occupy Dataran' ?

Anwar has some explaining to do, says The Economist

KUALA LUMPUR: Video footage of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during Bersih 3.0 posted on YouTube shows him making a curious rolling gesture with his hands to PKR deputy president Azmin Ali.



Within seconds, PKR supporters breached the police barricades and charged into Dataran Merdeka, prompting the police to respond with tear gas and water cannons to prevent a stampede.

In an interview with Radio Australia on Tuesday, Anwar denied that his hand gesture was a signal to protestors to breach the barricades, instead claiming that it meant “negotiate with the police”.

While the hand gesture is open to interpretation, a few outside observers had their own take on it.

“Mr Anwar has some explaining to do”, was The Economist's verdict and, here in Malaysia, Anwar's role in Bersih 3.0 has been criticised by people from both ends of the political spectrum.

At a PKR press conference on Monday, independent filmmaker Benji Lim accused Anwar of endangering the lives of protesters, as well as jeopardising Bersih's cause.

“The protest was completely hijacked by the opposition,” he claimed, before being bundled unceremoniously out of the room.

Even Bersih 3.0 chief organiser Datuk S. Ambiga noted Bersih's politicisation by opposition leaders, telling journalists that she “cannot control what they say”.

Anwar has dismissed any criticism of his conduct. Instead, at the press conference, he launched an attack on the government, accusing the Barisan Nasional leadership of behaving like Stalin and Hitler.

He went on to suggest his fate was comparable to a Nazi concentration camp victim a claim made on the exact anniversary of Hitler's death.

Political observers say that Anwar has often been seen indulging in “hand gesture politics”, revelling in grand spectacles but offering voters little in terms of a detailed blueprint for transformation.

Some say Anwar's “hand gesture politics” appears to have backfired.

Don't be surprised to see him spend much of the coming weeks and months explaining what his Bersih hand gesture really meant. -Bernama

Related posts:
More tests for Malaysian democracy
Bersih 3.0 rally: Malaysia braces for electoral reform protests 
Bersih 3.0: the good, bad and ugly Malaysians 
Malaysian police fire tear gas at more than 25,000 protesters, Bersih 3.0 rally 
More than 20000 Malaysians march for election reforms ... 

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Malaysia's Anwar's Sodomy Verdict D-Day 901; So near, yet so far?


Anwar Ibrahim has been critical of the New Eco...
Sodomy verdict time, again

By LISA GOH lisagoh@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: More than a decade after he was first convicted of sodomy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will know tomorrow whether he is found guilty of a similar offence.

The decision in the Kuala Lumpur High Court comes at the end of a trial lasting nearly two years.

Anwar, 64, who has been charged with sodomising Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, his 27-year-old former personal aide, faces up to 20 years in jail and whipping, if convicted.

In 2000, he was charged with sodomising driver Azizan Abu Bakar, convicted by the High Court and jailed.

His conviction was overturned in 2004 by the Federal Court in a 2:1 majority ruling and he was released.

He was charged on Aug 8, 2008 with sodomising Mohd Saiful at the Desa Damansara Condominium in Bukit Damansara in Kuala Lumpur on June 26, 2008.

He has adamantly maintained his innocence throughout the trial which saw 27 prosecution and seven defence witnesses (including Anwar himself, who gave a statement from the dock) called.

Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden led the prosecution while veteran criminal lawyer Karpal Singh and S.N. Nair represented Anwar.

Highlights of the trial included the testimony of Mohd Saiful who told the court that Anwar asked him: “Can I f--- you today?” Mohd Saiful said he brought KY Jelly lubricant to the apartment where the alleged sodomy took place.

Other highlights included evidence that there were up to five unidentified male DNA profiles found around Mohd Saiful’s anal region.

The identifying of Anwar as ‘Male Y’, whose semen was found in the complainant’s anus, was another dramatic turn in the trial.

His DNA, taken from a towel, a toothbrush and a water bottle, all of which were acquired from his cell at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters in July 2008, had matched the DNA profile of an unidentified person labelled ‘Male Y’.

Anwar tried several times to have the sitting judge recuse himself – once over an allegation that Mohd Saiful, who was the key prosecution witness, had an affair with a prosecutor involved in the case.

All his applications to disqualify Justice Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah failed.

Should Anwar be convicted, he would have two chances – at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court – to overturn the ruling.

If acquitted, he walks out of the High Court a free man.


So near, yet so far

Insight By Joceline Tan

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s track record since his 2008 political comeback has been marked by missed opportunities. He is once again at a critical crossroads while his Pakatan Rakyat coalition struggles to find an alternative candidate for prime minister. 

DATUK Seri Anwar Ibrahim looked a little tense during a packed press conference on Tuesday. He had a big week stretched ahead before his D-Day in court and he obviously had lots of things on his mind.

He kept his answers short and simple but managed to raise some eyebrows among reporters when he said that, “if I am jailed, involved in an accident or shot, we are prepared ....”.

What was he trying to say, some had asked. Who on earth would want to see him in an accident at this point in time? Surely not his supporters and the last thing his adversaries would want was to see him turned into a martyr.

Momentum to D-Day: Anwar, seen here with his daughter Nurul Izzah, has been on a nationwide roadshow to whip up sentiment over the court decision on his sodomy trial.>>

The press conference ended quickly and he flashed a dazzling smile as he left the room. He was in a hurry to go home to change and leave for a ceramah in Muar, Johor, later that evening. The Muar event was the first of a string of ceramah to whip up sentiment over tomorrow’s court judgment and Anwar has since blazed through eight states in six days.

The ceramah have attracted sizeable crowds but the sodomy trial has been a long and winding process, stretched over three years and fraught with so many delays that ordinary folk have been lost in the legal maze.

But the temperature has gone up again with the impending court decision and Pakatan Rakyat’s threat of bringing 100,000 protesters into Kuala Lumpur.

PKR, especially, is hoping to repeat the street protests that followed Anwar’s sacking in 1998, to create a wave of sympathy for Anwar and a momentum against the Government.

The Pakatan coalition has been talking about an Arab Spring in Malaysia and tomorrow’s demonstration is seen as another step in that direction.

Saiful: The victim in the sodomy trial eclipsed by the politics around Anwar. 
SMS orders have been flying from the PKR headquarters to its local leaders to produce the numbers tomorrow. Every PKR division has been ordered to gather 500 members and they have been told to wear black or white, the colours of mourning.

The Internet has been afire with conversation about the event, with the pro-Barisan Nasional side condemning the event as an attempt to subvert the judiciary and the pro-Pakatan side condemning those condemning the event.

More than 300 police reports have been lodged against the planned demonstration and the last one week has seen pages in Utusan Malaysia filled with news critical of Anwar and the demonstration.

“The verdict is still out there even though the general impression is that he can’t run. Monday will be a closure to the judicial process of a high-profile trial. With a general election ahead, it will also provide everyone an opportunity for political posturing,” said DAP’s Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi.

The official stand of Pakatan leaders is that the trial is a conspiracy to stop Anwar from becoming prime minister and they will stand by him.

Privately, they have been quite exasperated at the see-sawing political path of Anwar.

He has not shown the leadership they expected. They feel let down, many of them have watched the sex video and come to their own conclusions.

MPs from DAP have been given notice to attend and show moral support but, said Ooi, there is no signal to members to turn up in full force.

Monday will be a closure to the judicial process of a high-profile trial. - JEFF OOI >>

DAP knows that the Tahrir Square type of agitation is not the Chinese cup of tea and their response to the call to protest has been muted. They believe that if a government is to be overthrown, it should be via the ballot box rather than by Tahrir Square tactics and Malaysia is definitely not Egypt or Syria.

Besides, DAP is now the government in several states and it cannot be seen to actively encourage protests against court judgments. They would not want the same disruption repeated in their own backyard.

A leading PAS figure said their leaders would be present in court tomorrow, but PAS is not mobilising their members to make up the numbers.

“If you’re thinking of the Bersih type of crowd, that’s not going to be the case,” said the PAS leader.

Some had expected Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat to come out with a ringing endorsement for Anwar but the Kelantan Mentri Besar was in the news for another reason this week.

He was photographed presenting the keys to the house the state government had given to Kelantan football star Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, also known as Apek. Apek is a fantasy of many Malay girls and Nik Aziz advised him to “cepat kahwin” so as to avoid committing sin.

However, former Umno minister Tan Sri Kadir Sheikh Fadzir caused a stir when he gave an interview praising Anwar as a “great Malaysian leader”.

Ummi Hafilda Ali, the woman who had sparked off the first sodomy trial, called her own interview to renew her attacks on what she labelled the “3 As” – Anwar, his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and PKR deputy president Azmin Ali who is Ummi’s brother.

Perhaps the most telling part is how Anwar is quite alone this time around as he went on his roadshow.

It was quite a different scenario from 1998 when Abim activists and religious figures from PAS lent their weight to his cause.

The PAS response to tomorrow’s decision has been rather complex.

Top PAS leaders, especially among the ulama group, have never been totally comfortable with the idea of Anwar as prime minister.

They hate the religious pluralism associated with Anwar; it is anathema to their idea of Islam as the one true religion.

Besides, they have everything to gain from a scenario without Anwar.

As the party’s Selangor leader Datuk Dr Hasan Ali put it, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang or Nik Aziz would be PAS’ choice for premiership.

It has been amid such complexity that blogger-in-exile Raja Petra Kamarudin or RPK gave a shattering interview about Anwar in several newspapers.

People are still digesting what he has said about Anwar being a liability to his coalition, the allusions to his sexuality and what appears to be RPK’s opposition to a Tahrir Square phenomenon in Malaysia.

The blogger has gone overnight from hero to zero among the very people who used to hang onto his every word.

This is basically the ABU segment – the cohort that is going to vote for Anything But Umno; they had loved him when he was telling them what they wanted to hear.

But what he is saying now is not what they want to hear, never mind if it is the reality, and they have thrashed him black and blue and accused him of selling out.

Said a pro-Pakatan academic: “My sense is that RPK is speaking his mind. I don’t believe he has been bought. He has seen the opportunities come and go for Anwar and (Anwar) has not withstood the test. I sense he is disappointed with Anwar and his leadership of PKR. I know many people who are pro-Pakatan and who do not disagree with what (RPK) said except they cannot come out and say it.”

While the Umno side recognises the political gains from RPK’s interview, they are not exactly comfortable with him.

RPK’s power of the pen is quite different from any other. He is a maverick and Umno is not sure where or who he will strike next.

Insiders say RPK is still with Pakatan although he burnt his bridges with Anwar more than a year ago.

He has attacked mainly Anwar. He has spared PAS and DAP and he has advocated Anwar’s daughter Nurul Izzah as the post-Anwar alternative.

All sorts of nasty stuff has been said about RPK sitting out the freezing winter of Manchester in Phuket.

He is not rolling in dough as some imagine; he is there on the goodwill of friends, staying in a US$40 (RM126) per day hotel.

RPK wants to come home, a move he thought would be possible only if Pakatan wins power.

He was banking on Anwar leading Pakatan to take over Putrajaya but he does not see that happening.

Anwar is damaged goods, he has squandered what could have been and RPK is simply saying it out loud.

Anwar’s post-2008 track record has been marked by missed opportunities and a lack of discipline in his personal life.

Even feng shui expert Joey Yap added his two-sen worth about Anwar’s future.

According to Yap, Anwar, who is a metal element, will apparently have to struggle in the Year of the Water Dragon.

Tomorrow’s protest will probably be the most videographed ever. Apart from the media coverage, the police intend to video everything to defend their actions.

The most curious part of the maelstrom is how the person who started the whole thing seems to have been forgotten.

Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the alleged victim in the case, has been eclipsed by all the political activity. The once effeminate-looking Saiful has grown into a rather handsome man.

He is pursuing a distant learning degree from Universiti Utara Malaysia and recently made the Dean’s list.
His life has changed irrevocably since the day he accused Anwar of sodomising him.

Regardless of whether the court agrees or disagrees with him, Saiful will never be able to live a normal life as we understand it.

The Prime Minister’s office has been a case of so near, yet so far where Anwar is concerned but, as the Malays say, if it is meant to be, it will be.

If it is not meant to be, then Pakatan will just have to move on to another prime minister candidate.

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901 Malaysian Anwar’s life D-day? Rally allowed – only at car park!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

901 Malaysian Anwar’s life D-day? Rally allowed – only at car park!


Another twist in Anwar’s life

Comment by BARADAN KUPPUSAMY

The Sodomy II verdict is around the corner and the PKR leader is pushing for a show of support with his party’s call for a mass rally on Monday.

YET another confrontation is brewing between PKR and its leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the authorities as his long-drawn Sodomy II trial climaxes with a verdict by Justice Mohamad Abidin Diah on Monday.

Anwar, who is charged with committing sodomy against his former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan on June 26, 2008, is mobilising 100,000 people outside the courthouse on the day in an effort to presumably influence the verdict.

In the spotlight: Anwar and his wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail leaving the Kuala Lumpur courthouse in this file picture.>>
 
That number of people in a small court compound is also a sign of desperation on Anwar’s part, irrespective of whether that actual number of people turn up or not.

It is also an attempt to shake the political establishment, grip the nation’s attention, revive the flagging fortunes of his PKR and try to avert the inevitable.

Anwar has had a long and unrelenting political career that saw him rise to become the second most powerful man as Deputy Prime Minister but then fall from grace ending up as a prisoner only to rise again on his release in 2004, as leader of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

He came within touch of the country’s highest post, his lifelong dream, winning 82 seats in parliament in the 2008 general election.

The problem is that the political establishment saw Anwar as an outsider who first used the Islamic reform movement Abim to pressure for change and then when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad opened the doors, Anwar abandoned friends and principles and entered Umno.



He made short shrift of his opponents as he climbed up the Umno ladder and was helped along by Mahathir until 1999 when he was to have challenged his own benefactor for the Umno presidency and take the Prime Minister’s post that goes with it.

But he fell foul of powerful political interest groups and was expelled and jailed on corruption and sodomy charges in 1998.

He served his corruption sentence and was acquitted of sodomy and released in 2004 only to put together a loose knit grouping of three parties, including his own PKR, PAS and DAP, to win handsomely against then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in the 2008 general election.

He managed to combine his grievances, especially the black eye incident, with the grouses of the people and romp home against an ineffective prime minister, winning big but not big enough with just 49% of the popular votes.

After that an eager and impatient Anwar, instead of accepting the people’s verdict and playing his role as Opposition Leader, styled himself as the Prime Minister-in-waiting and launched his Sept 16 gambit that failed miserably when Barisan MPs refused to defect.

His credibility plunged with nearly everyone – the international media, his own supporters and the Malaysian public at large.

In the meantime, Umno saw fit to change horses, urgently retiring Abdullah and putting Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in the captain’s seat. Anwar fought very hard to prevent Najib taking over but he failed.

Najib began his political and economic transformation of the nation and three years on is poised to call a general election on the strength of the changes he has introduced principally the repeal of the ISA and other outdated laws, a Peaceful Assembly Bill that allows demonstrations and repeal of Sec 29 of the Police Act that requires police permits.

He is also reforming the election laws and procedures, and has been criss-crossing the country meeting all kinds of people and offering aid and promising that the government is for all the people, not just a few.

Najib is now preparing to introduce a Race Relation law in the March sitting of Parliament that would further undercut the opposition chances at the polls by promising a fair and egalitarian society without discrimination based on race, colour or ethnicity.

Anwar on the other hand has been, as his one-time ally Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) claims, a frequent traveller overseas giving speeches at numerous conferences while his sodomy trial here dragged on with numerous postponements.

Surprisingly, at the trial, Anwar preferred not to testify under oath but gave a speech from the dock decrying government oppression and persecution likening himself to Nelson Mandela.

He also gave up his chance to rebut Saiful thoroughly.

Further sensitive parts of Saiful’s testimony were held in camera, at Anwar’s request. Anwar also promised to call a long list of alibi witnesses but did not do so, weakening his case.

As many, including RPK, have said, Anwar received a fair trial this time compared with 1999.

Whatever the verdict, for Anwar it is just another day and event in a tumultuous career that could have easily floored a lesser man but not this incorrigible optimist.

Rally allowed – only at car park

By RASHITHA A. HAMID rashitha@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have allowed the much talked-about Free Anwar 901 gathering to go on as long as it is held at the car park of the Jalan Duta Court Complex here.

The court complex has parking bays for 1,000 vehicles.

City police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohmad Salleh said the decision was made after a discussion with PKR deputy president Azmin Ali yesterday.

“After the discussion, they (the organisers) promised to have a peaceful gathering at the car park,” he said during a press conference.

Approved site: The car park outside the Duta Court Complex where the rally is allowed take place.
 
The meeting between DCP Mohmad and Azmin lasted for one and half hours at the city police headquarters.

Meanwhile, Sentul OCPD Asst Comm Zakaria Pagan said they had imposed 10 conditions on the organisers and supporters.

They have banned the use of “Free Anwar 901” tagline and the organisers were allowed to use only two loud hailers for crowd control purposes.

“The use of Free Anwar 901 tagline and amplifiers is strictly forbidden,” he said.

Stressing that no speeches were allowed, Zakaria said the organisers must ensure that participants did not cause any nuisance.

He said they were only allowed to assemble at the public car park on the left side of the main road.

“Participants should not step outside the boundary,” he said, adding that “excess” crowds would not be allowed.

He also said the participants must not carry any form of weapons, cooperate during spot checks and that the crowd should disperse within an hour after the verdict was delivered.

The rally is planned to coincide with the court decision in the high-profile sodomy case of Opposition Leader and PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar, 64, is charged with sodomising former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan at a condominium in Bukit Damansara between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

On Thursday, Inspector-Gene-ral of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said the organisers had been asked to meet the city police chief to discuss whether the gathering should be held at another location instead of in front of the court complex.

Anwar told a ceramah last night that the court's decision was secondary and the most important thing was for Pakatan Rakyat to win the general election.

In PUTRAJAYA, the Alliance of Non-governmental Organisations Malaysia and several individuals have lodged police reports against the rally.

Its secretary Mohd Jurit Ramli urged the authorities to take action against the organisers on grounds that the gathering would be an insult to the country's judiciary.

The group, comprising some 50 NGO leaders, lodged 45 reports against the gathering.

Related posts:

Malaysia's Anwar's Sodomy Verdict D-Day 901; So near, yet so far?


Politician, hero or zero? RPK hits back at critics!

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Monday, January 2, 2012

Politician, hero or zero? RPK hits back at critics!


Anwar no more Raja Petra’s hero

Analysis By BARADAN KUPPUSAMY

Raja Petra Kamaruddin, in an interview with the media, gives his take on Pakatan Rakyat and its leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a man he once admired and supported wholeheartedly.

BLOGGER-in-exile Raja Petra Kamaruddin has emerged to give an interview to several media representatives, during which he spoke on a wide range of topics covering the future of Pakatan Rakyat, its leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the prospects of the coalition in the next general election.

The interview appeared yesterday in The New Sunday Times, Berita Minggu, Mingguan Malaysia and online news website Malaysia Today.



His emergence at this crucial juncture is a boon to Barisan Nasional as it prepares for the hustings.

In a nutshell, what he spoke about can be summarised in his own words: “I can support the Opposition, without supporting Anwar.

“It is not a sin or crime if I don't support Anwar,” says the political pundit who is more popularly referred to as RPK.

That statement summed up his current position vis-a-vis politics and the big battle for power ahead.

He has lost confidence in Anwar as Pakatan leader.

He believes Pakatan cannot capture Putrajaya and he says the Opposition must look beyond to a time when it can exist and keep going without Anwar.

The key to politics today is to create a two-party system, to lay the foundation for it and not to capture power now.

On a personal note, he believes the Sodomy II trial was fair compared with the first sodomy trial in the late 90s and that Anwar is a victim of a honey trap in the latest tribulations.

Raja Petra is certainly no ordinary blogger.

He was the first man in the country to combine digital technology with a flair for writing and place it at the disposal of the man he admired and supported wholeheartedly Anwar.

He kept the Anwarites' flame alive through the dark years of Anwar's sacking by then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the reformasi struggle and Anwar's imprisonment, with his Free Anwar website.



After Anwar's 2004 release, Raja Petra set up the Malaysia Today website which, with his talent for story-telling, turned into the foremost political news blog.

He “escaped” from the country and ended up as an exile in Britain following several warrants for his arrest.

In addition, several people have also obtained bankruptcy petitions against him.

In Britain, he set up the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) with lawyer Haris Ibrahim and they proffered several independent candidates, i.e. lawyer Malik Imtiaz but their scheme did not take off because of criticisms from Pakatan leaders and supporters.

The Opposition saw the third force, as MCLM wanted to be, as a trojan horse of Barisan.

His Malaysia Today website is not as widely read as it was before but Raja Petra, as an activist and commentator on political development, remains influential as this wide-ranging interview suggests.

His take on Anwar remains his most important contribution to contemporary politics, as he was such an ardent supporter previously.

He says if Pakatan does not capture Putrajaya, and he gives reasons why it can't do it, Anwar would slide into irrelevance and eventually into oblivion.

The struggle has always been to bring change and not to free Anwar as in Nelson Mandela's case, to fight and bring down apartheid and not to seek his release.

While Raja Petra is by no means a supporter of Barisan, he reserves his harshest criticism to Anwar's failure to lead Pakatan.

He faults Anwar's leadership shortcomings.

He says Anwar is a great speaker at ceramah but he is not an administrator and points to the many times Anwar has gone overseas since he was appointed economic adviser to the Selangor government three years ago.

“Shouldn't you be staying home, running the state? Running the party? Running the coalition?” he said.

He also urges Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to take the “bull by the horns” in introducing reforms and not just scratch the surface or indulge in cosmetic changes.

“Najib must be prepared not only to take a knife but a chainsaw and cut whatever he needs to cut.”

Being who he is, supporters of Pakatan would be unhappy with Raja Petra's criticisms of the coalition.

The three parties of the coalition seem to be fighting each other for the spoils of victory in the next general election, he says.

It is a coup for the Government to get no less than Raja Petra himself to line up against Pakatan and its leader Anwar.

His influence on Pakatan supporters was seen in the 2008 general election.

He was out campaigning, asking voters to vote for change.

This time, he is asking voters to not to vote blindly for any “donkey or monkey” but to pick candidates, from either side who would truly serve the rakyat.

In justifying his criticism of Pakatan, he says he is not supporting Barisan and he is not saying Barisan is the best government.

RPK hits back at critics

PETALING JAYA: Controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin has hit back at critics who accused him of selling out to Barisan Nasional.

In his latest post on his website, he said he had expected the barrage of criticisms after he slammed Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in an interview to selected mainstream media and an online portal.

Raja Petra spoke on a variety of issues including Anwar's possible irrelevance, his sodomy trial and the Selangor government.

Raja Petra dismissed criticisms by commentators in various online portals, saying that what they said did not matter to him.

“The more important issue is: Which category are you in? Are you amongst the less than four million Malaysians who voted the Opposition in the last general election? Or are you amongst the more than 11 million eligible voters who did not vote Opposition, did not vote at all, or did not even register to vote?

“Yes, I value your comments, but only if you fall in the first category. If not, then your comments are of no significance,” he added.

Raja Petra stunned many when he questioned whether Anwar was the best candidate to lead the country, saying he “wasn't impressed” with the latter's performance in Selangor.

Meanwhile, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution accused Raja Petra of being a “hired Umno blogger” and part of a larger plot to smear Anwar's name ahead of the latter's sodomy trial verdict on Jan 9.

He told an online news portal that Umno and Barisan were determined to see Anwar jailed, adding that the attacks against Anwar were meant to deflect attention from the Government's alleged financial scandals.

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim's political secretary Faekah Husin said the state was willing to pay Raja Petra's transportation costs from overseas to return to Malaysia and shed light on his bribery claims.

She claimed many were of the view that Raja Petra was desperate to return home, hence the attacks on Anwar.

PKR vice-president N. Surendran said Raja Petra's comments were “unfair, untrue, unsupported by any believable evidence and plainly libellous”.