PKR de facto chief appears geared for the worst
Permatang Pauh MP Anwar Ibrahim appears to be bracing himself to face whatever the outcome of his appeal against the five -year -jail sentence for sodomy when he said "This may be my last speech (pidato) here".
Permatang Pauh MP Anwar Ibrahim appears to be bracing himself to face whatever the outcome of his appeal against the five -year -jail sentence for sodomy when he said "This may be my last speech (pidato) here".
Anwar, who is also parliamentary opposition leader said this in Seberang Jaya last night during the Reformasi 2.0 political ceramah held to remind the public about the injustices surrounding his second sodomy conviction.
On March 7, the Court of Appeal jailed Anwar for five years, following the prosecution's appeal against his aquittal by the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
The PKR defacto leader has ten days to submit his appeal against the sentence, pending a new legal counsel, as the one representing him, Karpal Singh had died in a tragic accident yesterday.
"God willing, it is not (the last day), but if this is the last, then we pray," he said, uttering some Quranic verses, which meant "We pray and we repent". (Kita doa dan kita taubat).
He said one should continue to pray for God's grace and not wait for punishment.
Anwar urged his constituents to defend the constituency should there be a by-election if he losses his seat in the event the Federal Court upholds the High Court's decision , which the crowd reacted by breaking into loud cheers and applause.
He also told them to join the May 1 anti-GST (good and services tax) mass rally at Dataran Merdeka, saying "we are going down there in a peaceful way".
The rally is being organised by a coalition of 89 NGOs and Pakatan as a referendum against the GST, which the federal government will impose in Apr 15 next year.
A different perspective for authorities
"We are not coolies, we are not slaves, we just want to gather peacefully," he added.
PAS deputy president Mohamed Sabu who was also among the speakers for the night, has been given the task to chair the programme on Pakatan Rakyat's behalf, Anwar said.
He said God willing, he will be there at the event, however, if it is fated that he cannot make it, "You must continue it with courage, my friends".
Anwar expressed his highest honour and gratitude to his voters in Permatang Pauh, to his friends in Penang, and those among the 2,000 odd crowd, who mostly sat on the grass with their mats, to listen to his fiery speech.
"The more they want to put me in jail, the more people come forward to join the struggle," he said, as the crowd approves by cheering.
"Your spirit has given me the courage to Lawan Tetap Lawan (continue the fight)," he added, shouting reformasi, PKR's war cry since it was launch in 1999.
When the event ended, Anwar was swarmed by his supporters, who jostled for a chance to snap photos with their icon.
Anwar shook hands and sometimes hugged the people he met while walking to his car, while his bodyguards and over enthusiastic fans tried to "shield” him from media photographers.
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