SHAH ALAM,Malaysia — Veteran opposition leader Lim Kit Siang today predicted the Pakatan Rakyat will have an easier time at the next general election if the government jails Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy.“If he is jailed, our motto will be free Anwar, vote PR!” said the DAP stalwart during the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Convention.
Source: The Malaysian Insider
- Anwar, the de factor PKR and PR leader, is facing his second sodomy charge in more than a decade after he was sacked as deputy prime minister and later jailed for sodomy and corruption offences.
- The next election is not due until 2013 but pundits expect Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to call for snap polls after the Sarawak state elections, which are due by July 2011.
- The Ipoh Timor MP said the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government was courting trouble by continuing their persecution of the Opposition Leader, who has denied the sodomy charge and called it a political conspiracy.
- Lim lashed out at the government for what he claims was a move to subvert democracy and cited the example of the police crackdown on a DAP dinner at Kepong last night.
- Lim reiterated PR support for Anwar to continue to remain as Opposition Leader.
- “He will continue to be Opposition Leader until he becomes prime minister.”
- But Anwar’s PKR has been hobbled with crisis after three MPs, Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim (Bayan Baru), Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal) and Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri (Bagan Serai), quit the party over the past month while Zulkifli Noordin (Kulim-Bandar Baru) was sacked, reducing the party to 27 Parliament seats.
- DAP currently has 28 seats while PAS had 23 seats. By convention, the Opposition Leader comes from the party with the most number of seats in that bench but PR has maintained its support for Anwar.
- Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin pointed out recently that Lim should assume the helm as he is the DAP Parliament leader.
- “I thank Khairy for his concern but he should be more concerned over why he has not been made a deputy minister,” said Lim sarcastically.
- By convention, the BN government appoints the Umno Youth chief to a ministerial position but Khairy is the second in recent history not to get a Cabinet post.
- The other was Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was not appointed in the 1990s when Umno and BN was chaired by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Zahid is now the Defence Minister.
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