Pakatan Rakyat leaders have told US National Security Adviser Susan Rice that the opposition was stopped from replacing the BN government, even after winning the popular vote in the general election last May.

PKR's Anwar Ibrahim, PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng emphasised that Malaysia must undergo electoral reform if the US was serious about its statement on human rights, democracy and freedom in the country.

"Our party won the popular vote. We should be the governing party.

"As long as there is no electoral reform, we are very concerned with the direction of democracy in Malaysia, " DAP's Lim ( right ) told reporters, when asked about the 45-minute US-Pakatan leaders meeting in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

In response, he said, Rice noted and reaffirmed President Barack Obama's core message during his weekend visit that Malaysia must strive to be an inclusive society and not trample on the rights of minorities in the country.

Lim then quoted African-American civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr, who said, "The arc of the moral universe bends towards justice."

Speaking to reporters after announcing the George Town Arts Festival, which will be held in August, Lim added: "There must be electoral reform to reflect the will of the people, so that the party that wins the popular vote should have the right to govern."

'No country can succeed if...'

In the first visit by a US president to Malaysia in nearly 50 years, Obama had, over the weekend, said his core message to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak was that no country could succeed if part of its population was discriminated against.

 

"Malaysia won’t succeed if non-Muslims don’t have the opportunities," Obama, the first US black president, had said in Kuala Lumpur.

DAP's Lim said that Pakatan concurred with Obama's views.

"You need both Muslims and non-Muslims. You need everyone, you need an inclusive society to move forward," Lim, who is also Penang chief minister, said.

Lim also described the meeting with Rice as "interactive, with dialogue and exchanges" but he declined to elaborate whether the US gave any follow-up action ideas.

Obama had earlier turned down a meeting with Anwar Ibrahim but later told the foreign press in an interview that this did not indicate hiws country’s lack of concern about the federal opposition leader, who has been sentenced to five years’ jail for sodomising his aide.

Anwar would have been PM if...

In a press statement later, PKR said Lim had also told Rice that Anwar Ibrahim would be the rightful prime minister of Malaysia, if not for the “fraudulent conduct of the May 2013 general election”.

Lim told the US about how the opposition rallied millions of Malaysians across the country to protest the GE13 results but after six weeks, they had agreed to move forward with the business of governing, in interest of avoiding civil strife.

PKR said Anwar also raised Malaysia's objection to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) with Rice, specifically regarding its stipulations for the agricultural sector, pharmaceutical sector and the exposure to complex and costly litigation that Malaysia may face upon signing the agreement.

Anwar also suggested the US sets up a working group on governance and human rights to include representatives from civil society and the opposition as a way to strengthen the comprehensive partnership between Malaysia and US, as announced by President Obama.

Mustafa of PAS stated that Malaysia suffers from the failure of federalism.

The states rely heavily on the federal government for development, education and social welfare programmes, Mustafa told Rice and elaborated on how the Umno-controlled federal government often punished opposition-run states by withholding development funds.

After the session with the trio, PKR said, Anwar and Ambassador Rice spoke privately for some 20 minutes.

In a series of tweets later, Rice thanked Pakatan for the “candid” session.

“Greatly appreciated hearing candid views of Malaysian opposition leaders including Mr Anwar.

“Critical for Malaysia to apply the rule of law fairly, transparently, and apolitically.

“We are deepening partnership with government - but we greatly value our relationship with all of the people of Malaysia,” she tweeted.