Anwar on PKR's frogs..........

Opposition leader and PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim has a lot on his plate. Defections of the lawmakers, from his party, an average of one for every three months since the general elections in March 2008, have hogged the limelight recently. And then there is his second sodomy trial which is fast becoming a sordid caper, fit for an airport novel, with one lurid detail after another exposed in the open court.

People have said that the charismatic leader, still dashing at 62 years of age, has “lost it”, and that he is no longer his fiery self. But one thing which he insists is not bogging him down, are the defections, claiming that the worst is over, for now.

“From what we know, things are already under control. For those who were in cahoots with Umno, that phase has passed.

“But I can't say the same if the market price were to go up from RM2 million to RM5 million,” he said, alluding that the PKR lawmakers who have resigned were “bought over”.

Malaysiakini managed to catch up with the veteran politician and sat down with him in a interview as a prelude to the upcoming PKR congress in Kota Bharu set this weekend. Though having a packed schedule (this was his third press interview for the day, and it was only in the afternoon), Anwar also spoke about what to expect from the congress, the direction of the party post-2008, his trial and securing that elusive rural Malay vote. But grabbing the attention of the 40-minute conversation was the topic of defections, which, by his own admission, struck quite a blow to the party.

'Defectors not that significant'

“We know that the issue of defections were meant to attack us. And we also concede that the choice of representatives and candidates should be done more carefully the next time.

“In the past (during the 2008 general elections), there was not a big pool of talent of professionals, so we fielded whoever who was willing. So now we have to choose more carefully,” he said.

However, the fiery orator dismissed the turncoats, 10 lawmakers in total, who have gone as far as being labelled as “close confidantes” to the former deputy prime minister.

“Some say that they are close to me. I won't deny that I know them. I do see them, and talk to them. Like (Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Hashim) who was the first to say that he is close to me.

“I just do not comment about him, because that will just increase his worth. But the fact remains that I only see him twice a year, and I have not heard a word from him from 1998 to 2006 (when he was imprisoned). There were no letters, no greetings, nothing,” he said.

However, he did not touch on the resignation of Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Noordin, who was one of his lawyers in his first sodomy trial, as well his former political secretary and Youth chief Mohamed Ezam Mohd Noor. Both were said to fiercely loyal to Anwar, until they left.

Anwar also maintained that those who had left, did not do so because of a “clash of personality”, nor was it the question of integrity.

“If a wakil rakyat really is compelled to leave, he would have gone down to his grassroots and the members and ask them what they thought of it. Instead, there were just secret deals with Umno, and the people know that,” he said, adding that the ground level support is still strong.

'Record the offers'

In fact, in face of alleged rampant trade-offs and party allegiance for sale, Anwar said that he has advised party supporters to carry voice recorders and tape conversations of people offering them money to defect.

“We already know that nothing is going to happen if we were to make a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. So might as well take this recordings and circulate it to the public,” he said.

But defections aside, Anwar suspects that the 2,000-strong delegates will be bringing up the issue of supposed factions in the party. He denies that there are any, but rumours are rife that there is an undercurrent of allegiance to different personalities.

“You're the one who say that there are factions. But I really don't see it that way,” he said.

But downplaying his role in the congress, saying that he genuinely does not know about the technicalities of the function, he said that he will be taking the back seat in opening ceremony on Friday morning, with an address by party president and his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

“Let her talk. I will just listen, and then elaborate her speech at a ceramah later that night,” he said.

But whether he will have an iron grip over the proceedings in the two-day congress, it is still almost certain that the delegates from all over the country will be grilling the leadership on its directions, and regarding the defections, whether the worst is over, or would the exodus continue.- Regina Lee

source:malaysiakini.



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