Anwar - We wont walk like the Egyptians....

After weeks of borrowing influence from the democracy movement in Middle Eastern countries, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim yesterday explained that a Egyptian or a Tunisian-style power grab was not for Pakatan Rakyat's taking.

“We don't want to do things like Egypt or Tunisia. If we want democracy, we will do it through the ballot boxes and through the general elections. “And we are here for the win,” said Anwar, who is also the PKR de facto leader, in a speech last night.

“Malaysia is a great country. It's a beautiful country and I love this country very much. Malaysia does not deserve to be led by leaders who are corrupt and greedy,” he added.

Tunisia saw an uprising in December last year, which is now come to known as the 'Jasmine Revolution'. What started off as continuous public pressure and street demonstrations, quickly escalated nationwide, leading to the ousting of longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Inspired by their Arab brethren, Egyptians followed suit and ousted their own president Hosni Mubarak - who ruled the country for 30 years - after 17 days of protests.

Capitalizing on this, Anwar had quickly used the two countries as ceramah fodder, drawing parallels between them and the BN administration in Malaysia. Several BN leaders have also swiftly responded to the insinuations, rubbishing the examples played up by Anwar.

Anwar 'takes responsibility' over the defectors

Speaking to a crowd of about 500 at the Federal Territory PKR launch of the 'Buku Jingga' and the fundraising dinner, Anwar also apologised over the recent string of defections from PKR. “When people jump, then they (BN) will start saying that this is evidence that the party will collapse soon. And out comes this cheque for RM1.4 million.

That's just one project by the way, we don't know if there are more,” he said, in clear reference to the Padang Serai MP N Gobalakrishnan. PKR had previously claimed that Gobalakrishnan - who left the party in Jan 29 - had suddenly only managed to pay off a RM1.4 million lease with two cheques, incidentally when his attacks against the party heightened.

To that, Anwar said that they have learnt their lesson.

“They say 'Anwar, you're also in the wrong because you chose them to be the wakil rakyat'. And that's why I accept full responsibility and I'm sorry. “But we have learnt our valuable lesson. If you are lazy and greedy, don't even think of wanting to become a candidate,” he said to applause by the floor.

Power outage causes scare

However, the event last night was not exactly without hitch when the power went out for 10 minutes just as Anwar took the mic. Just as he was in the midst of greeting the guests, the lights as well as the sound in the field of Kelab Sultan Sulaiman, Kampung Baru - where the dinner was held - went out, throwing the function into darkness.
While he was huddling around the podium with other party leaders including Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim and Federal Territory chief Dr Idris Ahmad, the 'security personnel' from the Youth wing quickly surrounded him to form a protective barrier.

After a few minutes of discussion, Anwar and his entourage decided to abandon the venue. But just as the were halfway walking out, the power came back on, causing them to quickly make a U-turn back for the stage.

source:malaysiakini

cheers.