A NGO, which is often seen as leaning towards Pakatan Rakyat, has urged Anwar Ibrahim to retire, saying that the people are "tired" of him.

In a hard-hitting statement, Lensa Anak Muda Malaysia (Lensa) coordinator Ekhsan Bukharee reminded the opposition leader that it is no longer the era of 1998 and 1999, which witnessed the birth of the reformasi movement.

With his political rivals hell-bent on destroying Anwar, he said, even if the Federal Court upholds his appeal, there could be similar cases in the future.

"Because you are still here, your enemies will continue to strategise to get you imprisoned and all the power of the regime is used to kill your political struggle.

"Even if you win the appeal, there might be Sodomy 3, Sodomy 4 and Sodomy 5 which will only victimise the rakyat who continue to be dragged into the dirty politics," Ekhsan ( right ) said.

Despite the authorities claiming otherwise, Anwar has always maintained that the sodomy charges against him were fabricated by his political rivals.

Settle down in Turkey

Stating that it would not take to the streets again to champion his cause, Ekhsan said: "If you go to prison, do you think we will be in solidarity with you, (protesting) in front of the prison? Do you think we will flood the streets with shouts of 'reformasi'?"

"No. This is not 1998 or 1999. We choose our own struggles, and you have chosen to be imprisoned when there are other options for you to take," he added.

Ekhsan said perhaps the time had come for the 67-year-old politician to throw in the towel and focus on his personal life.

He also questioned the reason the opposition leader did not accept the invitation from Turkey to settle down there.

Lensa, which at the height of the Selangor crisis called on PAS troublemakers to be reined in or expelled in order to strengthen Pakatan , also asked how many more times Anwar intended to drag the people to the streets for him.

"Until when do you want to see the rakyat expose themselves to the heat and be drenched in sweat just to be in solidarity with you?" added Ekhsan.

The Lensa statement comes as PKR Youth launched a campaign for the people to express solidarity with Anwar ahead of his appeal.

Calling for youth support

Meanwhile, PKR Youth Wing has urged its Pakatan Rakyat counterparts to stand together in the solidarity campaign for its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.  

 

"We hope that they (PAS and DAP Socialist Youth) will attend; they are our friends. This is our opportunity to strengthen ties among the Pakatan Youth," its vice-chief Mohd Radzlan Jalaludin said today.

 

Radzlan added that they were prepared for the worst.

 

“Anything that happens, we will accept it peacefully and professionally and not create a ruckus. However, we do have the highest hopes for Anwar to be released,” he told reporters at the PKR office in Petaling Jaya.

He also said the youth wing had hired 300 people to be part of a security squad to monitor and regulate the state of affairs during the case proceedings.

 

The PKR Youth Wing launched the campaign last Tuesday, for a period of 14 days to drum up solidarity for Anwar, leading up to the date of the appeal.

Anwar's final appeal against his sodomy conviction is slated to be heard by the Federal Court on Oct 28 and 29.

PKR team to brief Australian Parliament

Currently, a group of PKR delegates is in Australia on a working visit to present updates to the Australian Parliament on Anwar’s case as well as developments in Malaysian politics.

The delegates are Rafizi Ramli (MP for Pandan), Sim Tze Tzin (Bayan Baru), Wong Chen (Kelana Jaya), Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Selangor exco member), Lee Chean Chung (assemblyperson for Semambu) and Melissa Sasidaran.

"I believe this working visit will give a real picture on the actions of the BN, which has used the law to press down the opposition," Rafizi ( right ) said in a statement today.

They will be in Australia for a week, during which they will also hold meetings with bodies such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Australian Lawyers for Human Rights.

The PKR team will also be conduct lecture tours around Australia, in cities like Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and Sydney, to engage with Malaysian students there.

“This will also be the time for Malaysian students overseas to come forward in political discussions in a progressive manner,” Rafizi said.

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