PSM told to end public spat and discuss with Pakatan 2.0
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) should take the opportunity to explain their stance on Pakatan Harapan's platform and Article 153 so that people can understand their views better, Amanah's Khalid Samad said.
"This is an opportunity that can be of great benefit to PSM, Pakatan Harapan and the people.
"Only the accusation that I 'lied' is untrue," said the Shah Alam MP in a blog posting today.
Khalid ( photo ) stressed that his answer regarding PSM's purported disagreement with Article 153 was just what was explained to him at the roundtable meeting on Tuesday.
Another possible reason he had given for PSM not joining Pakatan Rakyat was because former opposition coalition component party PAS had disagreed with PSM joining the coalition.
However, he had also said that as PAS is no longer a part of the new coalition, that reason no longer stands.
The roundtable meeting was merely a "first step" for the new opposition coalition, and so only parties previously involved with Pakatan Rakyat had been invited, Khalid said.
Although Amanah is technically a new party, its leaders and members are made of former PAS leaders, and they have been publicly supportive of Pakatan Rakyat's concept.
'Stop public spat'
Meanwhile, Amanah's Mohamed Hanipa Maidin said he is unsure of why PSM had not been invited to join the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat, and now the new opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan.
"Personally, until now I also don't know the real reason why PSM was not a member of Pakatan Rakyat or Pakatan Harapan," Hanipa, who is also Sepang MP, said in a statement today.
Hanipa ( photo ) apologised to the socialist party if they felt slighted by the explanations given for why they have been excluded from the opposition coalition, saying he understood their disappointment.
However, he said PSM should not attack his fellow coalition members DAP's Ong Kian Ming and Khalid over the matter as they are merely the messengers.
"I believe both my friends, Ong and Khalid, had no intention to lie about the reason PSM is not in Pakatan Rakyat or Pakatan Harapan. I have never doubted the credibility or integrity of those two friends of mine.
"So when my PSM friends used words like 'lies' about my two friends, to me that is a rather strong statement, and it's better not to say it like that," he explained.
He added that Ong and Khalid were merely truthfully relaying the information given to them.
"I believe they never had any intention of shaming PSM or lying or anything bad like that," he said.
Known for defending PSM
Khalid has always defended PSM chairperson Nasir Hashim ( photo ) in the issue of the three-cornered fight for Kota Damansara last general elections, even against PAS, his own former party, Hanipa pointed out.
He hoped this issue could be settled amicably with an open discussion between Ong and Khalid with PSM.
Hanipa reminded that PSM should be focusing on how to defeat BN in the next general elections, and not on things that do not benefit the rakyat.
PSM was not invited to the opposition roundtable meeting on Tuesday, where PKR, DAP and Amanah announced the new opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan .
Ong and Khalid later said that they were told PSM was not invited because the socialist party had formerly disagreed with Article 153 of the constitution, a core point in the coalition's common policy framework.
Article 153 deals with the special rights of the bumiputera.
Former PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan has rubbished the explanation saying PSM had even endorsed Pakatan's common policy framework in their 2013 elections manifesto.
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