CALL ON PAS TO SUPPORT WAN AZIZAH FOR THE COUNTRY Press - TopicsExpress



          

CALL ON PAS TO SUPPORT WAN AZIZAH FOR THE COUNTRY Press statement by Gooi Hsiao Leung - 16.8.2014. With 30 Selangor state assemblymen having publicly declared their support for Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has lost the confidence of the majority in the State Assembly to carry on as Menteri Besar. Currently having barricaded and dug himself in his office in Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, he is praying that the Royal Palace will bail him out, despite having lost the mandate to govern Selangor. The nomination of Wan Azizah as Selangor’s Menteri Besar has the full backing and support of PKR and DAP. Meanwhile, PAS has come under heavy criticism and public condemnation for their refusal to stand in solidarity with their Pakatan partners to endorse Wan Azizah as the replacement candidate for Khalid. Despite having been criticised for dragging their feet in resolving the MB crisis, PAS has brushed off its critics by stating that that they will only make a final decision on August 17; a decision which will no doubt either break or make Pakatan a stronger coalition going forward. I want to take this opportunity to urge the PAS Central Council to focus on and consider the following points when deliberating on the MB crisis. Without a doubt, Malaysians today would not have been able to witness great political and social changes, unseen in the last 56 years, in the fight against corruption, abuse of power, racial and religious extremism, if not for the Pakatan partnership. Indeed, the coalition of PKR, DAP and PAS has ushered in a new dawn of politics in Malaysia, breaking the UMNO stranglehold on the country, and offering the country the real possibility of having a two-party system, to bring about real democratic change for the betterment of all Malaysians. Because of Pakatan and the hope it brings to the people, we would not have witnessed, for the first time in our history, BN losing its popular vote in the last general election, with droves of our citizens abandoning and turning away from UMNO BN’s rule. Let’s face it, the realisation of the Pakatan coalition was a direct of consequence of Anwar Ibrahim’s sacking from UMNO and his persecution in 1998. And let’s be honest, it was only because of Anwar’s charisma and stature, he was able to command the respect and co-operation of DAP and PAS to forge an opposition coalition. Some are opposed to the idea of idolising Anwar. Even some in PKR feel that the party must make an effort to metamorphosise itself to become above and beyond Anwar Ibrahim. I agree we should work towards this change, but we are not there yet. The fact remains, Anwar has achieved the impossible by uniting the opposition parties and bringing unprecedented electoral success in the last general election. For this, we must acknowledge and duly recognise Anwar’s unrelenting efforts and achievements. Anwar has for the last 16 years held the torch for Pakatan and for those in the country who want to see change. Unfortunately, there is a real likelihood that he will be sent to prison before year end. The question to ask therefore is, faced with the likelihood of Anwar’s imprisonment, who is most qualified to carry Anwar’s torch. PKR has chosen , and rightly so, Wan Azizah to lead and carry on Anwar’s continuing work to bring about change in the country, a heavy responsibility, which needs and must be jointly shouldered and supported by Lim Kit Siang and Hadi Awang. It is naïve and oversimplistic to accuse PKR of nepotism in nominating Wan Azizah as MB for the reasons stated above. It is also chalk and cheese to compare the case of Wan Azizah to that of PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mats son-in-law who was sacked from a state-owned firm following allegations of cronyism and nepotism. Wan Azizah is the chosen party president of PKR. She has led the party since its inception. She is not being nominated for the post of MB for any financial gain. She is doing it for the party, the rakyat, and continuing the agenda for reform started by Anwar. If Sheikh Hasina can be the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Megawati Sukarnoputri, President for Indonesia, Corazon Aquino for Philippines or Angela Merkel, Chancellor for Germany why not Wan Azizah for Malaysia ? Pakatan component parties see themselves as equal partners. If PAS is to work within the Pakatan framework, it must start by respecting the President of PKR and the party’s choice to nominate her. PAS cannot expect to co-operate with PKR if it does not first recognise Wan Azizah as the commander-in-chief of the party. It would be an insult to PKR to ask them to nominate someone else beneath the party president as an alternative candidate for the post of MB. For the sake of the country, and the common goals set out in Pakatan’s manifesto and buku jingga to bring about political changes in the country, I urge the PAS Central Council to do the right thing; endorse Wan Azizah as MB, and work with her to continue Anwar’s fight for reform in Malaysia. Gooi Hsiao Leung Member of Parliament for Alor Setar.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 08:02:17 +0000

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