The date of the upcoming general election is still anybody's guess but for Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, all the signs are in the air."I am absolutely certain that it will be called this year. You can see this frenzy, this madness in the Umno(-controlled) media. It wasn't good in the last decade, but certainly not as bad as now... which means that at the earliest, it will be late August, early September or October," he said.
The main battleground, said the PKR de facto leader in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini last week, will be the Malay heartland, especially with BN focusing most of its resources there.
"Yes, it is a challenge and we are probably not doing enough (to address the Malays). But we are going down to the ground and Umno knows this," said Anwar.
Malacca and Johor, traditionally considered BN strongholds, appear to be even more heavily fortified, with the Permatang Pauh MP "virtually banned" from holding ceramahs in these two southern states.
"I can't get a single (police) permit now to speak in Johor, except if it is a dinner with the Chinese - that is tolerable. So, in this case, the Malays are discriminated against, not the Chinese," Anwar said, chuckling.
But while Umno can afford to take an extreme position to retain Malay votes, having written off the apparently anti-establishment Chinese minority, Anwar said Pakatan has no such 'luxury' of choice.
"We should not play the race card to try to appease the Malays and antagonise the Chinese... people have suggested that we do not waste time talking to the Chinese. This is wrong.
"You do that and you appear quite arrogant. You think you have the Chinese support so you can ignore them? You can't," he said.
In this final part of the Anwar interview, the embattled opposition leader elaborates on Pakatan's final round of preparations for a snap general election, including negotiations on seats and where some swaps could be made. The content has been edited for clarity, language and brevity.
Malaysiakini: Will the 13th general election be held this year?
Anwar Ibrahim: I am absolutely certain that it will be called this year. You can see this frenzy, this madness in the Umno(-controlled) media. It wasn't good in the last decade, but certainly not as bad as now. This is a sign of desperation, the way they go on spending sprees, ministers going down (to the ground) focusing on certain areas, which means that at the earliest, it will be late August, early September or October.
The Budget will be unveiled in October. Perhaps after the Budget...?
Yes, perhaps after the Budget, but you know elections are never called based on rational reasons. Probably (it could be after the Budget) so that they can make some major announcements. (But) they may not be able to defer the election for that long because of the need to increase prices. They may choose to do it much earlier, defer increases in toll and petroleum, etc, give goodies, like for teachers, as they are doing now.
Will you be able to change the government in this election, or will you continue to deny BN two-thirds majority in Parliament?
Our position is always to bring about change (in government). We denied them two-thirds majority (in 2008) and we see that Umno has not learnt anything, but is now more racist, more cruel. So, to save Malaysia, we need to win the election.
Like it or not, there has been a swing among Malay voters, particularly if we look at the results of recent by-elections. How will you be able to win back the Malay ground, especially with the BN government focusing on them and basically writing off Chinese votes in order to win back its two-thirds majority?
Yes, I concede that this is an issue. (BN) has had to go on a very strong racist agenda. To them, it is an issue of Malay survival, and they use their media to spread lies and misinformation, like the Christian state issue, or that we are doing away with the sultans. They are targeting DAP, but you must do (DAP) justice. They went out of their way to sign a document, which as far as we are concerned is sacrosanct, which endorsed policies that are deemed controversial to the Chinese.
I met a lot of Chinese who asked why we endorse the special bumiputera (position), and DAP went as far as agreeing to this position, which I see as a very positive sign, but the media is taking the Perkasa line. And now, Najib is speaking in New York (about moderation), but (at home) he is using Perkasa and Utusan (Malaysia) to speak to the Malays. How do we deal with this? This is not just a problem for PKR but also for PAS and DAP, whose leaders now have to be mindful of these divide strategies ... so as not to give them (BN) any avenue to instil a climate of fear.
In Sarawak, I was criticised by some for announcing (Sarawak PKR chief) Baru Bian as chief minister (if Pakatan Rakyat wins), and it caused fear among the Malays. But in Penang, we can have a Chinese chief minister, so why not a Dayak chief minister? I consider Baru to be the most qualified.
How many seats is PKR in danger of losing, with BN giving special focus to Malay voters?
We have to deal with it, but don't overestimate Umno's intelligence. Okay, the golden rule of Sun Tzu is to never underestimate your foe... but, really, don't overestimate (Umno). How do they defend price increases, massive corruption, wastage of RM20 billion ringgit a year? How do you defend the independent power producer subsidies? This goes down to the people.
But the fear instilled about religion and race is seen as an affront to one's sense of 'Malayness', which is perhaps more personal and emotive compared with the issue of IPP subsidies. How do you face this challenge?
Yes, it is a challenge and we are probably not doing enough. But we are going down to the ground (to address this) and Umno knows this. That's why we are virtually banned from going to Malacca and Johor. I can't get a single (police) permit now to speak in Johor, except if it is a dinner with the Chinese. That is tolerable. So, in this case, the Malays are discriminated against, not the Chinese. [Laughs]
It has been happening for the past few months and now even in Selangor, (PKR deputy president) Azmin (Ali) could not get a permit. Or even in Klang, even though I always give more than two weeks' notice for all my programmes.
You have no such problem in the other states?
It's difficult, but we still manage to get the permits, but it is impossible in Malacca and Johor. I have to outsmart them by conducting small programmes or inviting the Malays [laughs] to Chinese dinners. So, you think Pakatan still has a chance of winning over the estimated five-to-seven percent Malay voters considered to be fence-sitters, who are coveted by both BN and Pakatan?
Yes, if we deal with them properly. Malays, too, want betterment for themselves. Abject poverty and marginalisation affects the Malays, too. They also want to know about the RM54 billion in bumiputera shares, and what has happened to their share.
Do you think the Perkasa-type ultra-Malay message is effective in winning votes?
I don't believe it has any standing. Even at (Perkasa's) best organised programmes - (where) they incite (the participants), appeal to their emotions on race, culture, survival of their religion (and) they bring in leaders, including Mahathir (Mohamad, former premier and now Perkasa patron) - they only get 800 people, maximum 1,000. It does not give much impact. I am not suggesting that we downplay or not deal with (Perkasa), but I'm concerned that people read too much into them.
What we need to do is to go down to the ground. Kelantan is a Malay heartland. Why is it that they can support PAS? Padang Serai, Merbok, Sungai Petani, Kulim-Bandar Baru... they are all Malay heartlands, but still we won. So, I think we need to do more, and to make sure that PKR, DAP and PAS are mindful of the strategies in trying to appease and reassure the people.
Is PAS worried about losing Malay support?
To be fair, PAS and we (PKR) are concerned, but we take this as a challenge. There is also danger in taking Chinese support for granted. We should not try to play the race card to try to appease the Malays and antagonise the Chinese. We will have to reassure the Chinese, consolidate our base there and at the same time, penetrate the Malay heartland.
People suggest that we should not waste time talking to the Chinese. This is wrong. You do that and you appear quite arrogant. You think you have the Chinese support so you can ignore them? You can't. We must continue to consolidate, and continue to reassure them and say, look, we are consistent with our policies. You still have to be pro-Christian, pro-Chinese, even with (criticism) from Perkasa and Mahathir.
If Pakatan or Anwar makes such comments, (they say) it's about leaving the country to the Chinese or to the DAP. So, the Chinese too must understand that this is the game at play and we must inform the Malays (that this is not true).
What is the outlook in the constituencies PKR had won where the representatives have left PKR?
The new division chief in Bayan Baru (Sim Tze Sin) is actually more effective and working very hard, so I am happy with that situation. But for the others, we have state back-ups, like in Padang Serai, where the state exco handles programmes there every week.
The constituents see it. The MPs (who defected) are not performing. These guys (who left PKR) are essentially with BN, although they don't declare it. They hardly serve their constituencies, although they have been elected for years. You can see how they use TV3 or Utusan to whack us, but they can't even face their constituents in a public forum.
So PKR is expected to contest the seats it contested before?
Seat negotiations have proceeded and we are not going to announce our demands (publicly). Some states have been quite advanced. I am in agreement with (DAP parliamentary leader Lim) Kit (Siang) and (PAS secretary-general) Mustafa Ali, in that the states will have to deal with this.
For both parliamentary and state seats, all the details about voter figures and the respective strengths of the parties, we leave it to the states, and (the outcome of the discussions) will come to us (the Pakatan council), probably (to work on) the contentious seats.
DAP has announced that it wants to contest in areas it previously didn't. Is this a problem for PKR?
Anybody can announce a desire to contest. Our problem is that ... this will cause some to be unsettled about the matter. That is why the understanding among the leaders is that you should not make demands publicly... it is not in the spirit of negotiations.
Will all states need to go through negotiations again? Why can't you just follow the 2008 agreement?
The states will look at the 2008 base and then see if they can still agree with it. If there is need for small changes or swaps, then we can do it. I don't know (how many states have completed negotiations), it has not come to us (the Pakatan council) yet. Every state has its own session.
Is there a deadline for state-level negotiations?
We have given them time to try and do this in the next few weeks. We actually postponed the (Pakatan leadership council) meeting because Kit Siang is recuperating (from an eye surgery). We may have it after the PAS congress (from June 3 to 5). We may hold it in Penang.
(Interviewed by Steven Gan, Salhan K Ahmad, Kow Gah Chie and Aidila Razak.)
source:malaysiakini.
cheers.
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