Anwar reckons not all Malays will back Umno-PAS
Amid renewed close ties between Umno and PAS, an unfazed PKR president Anwar Ibrahim today said that not all Malays will be backing the two largest Malay-Muslim based political parties.
Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Anwar expressed confidence that his own party also has a sizeable number of Malay support...
Amid renewed close ties between Umno and PAS, an unfazed PKR president Anwar Ibrahim today said not all Malays will be backing the two largest Malay-Muslim based political parties.
Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Anwar expressed confidence that his own party also has a sizeable number of Malay support.
"There are many (Malays) in the society, there are many non-party members.
"So the important issue is not just about Malay unity, but about strengthening the position of Islam, upholding the (Malay) language and taking care of the interest of all Malaysians from all races," he said.
Anwar said this when asked for comments on the meeting between Umno and PAS top leaders held at the Umno headquarters in Kuala Lumpur's PWTC this afternoon seen as a concrete step towards more formal cooperation between the two parties.
The Port Dickson MP earlier chaired a meeting of the parliamentary caucus for reforms and administration.
Anwar said the primary issues remained to uphold good governance and transparent efforts to assist all who were in need.
"The majority of the poor and neglected are Malays. (But) we don't need to single out just one (race) because there are also Indians living in the estates who still need help and also pockets of urban poor Chinese," he said.
He added that he believes Pakatan Harapan has taken the right approach to address the people's problems including those in the low-income category.
On a separate matter, Anwar advised PKR members and elected representatives who wanted him appointed as the eighth prime minister fast to support the leadership of the current Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"I would like to advise party members and elected representatives to respect Harapan's spirit and also PKR's stand and to support Mahathir's leadership as we all have agreed upon," he said.
Anwar was asked for comments on the call by PKR's Batu Uban assemblyperson A Kumaresan (above) for Anwar to be made prime minister immediately.
Following Harapan's loss in the Semenyih by-election on Saturday, Kumaresan had said that Anwar's appointment should be hastened to restore the people's confidence in the ruling coalition.
Anwar said other matters raised during the caucus meeting today included a presentation by National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC) chief Abu Kassim Mohamed on the National Anti-Corruption Plan and the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into alleged judicial misconduct.
However, when quizzed on discussions surrounding the RCI, Anwar said queries should be directed to the prime minister.
He expressed hope that the commission's final terms of reference would be wide enough to protect the integrity of the judiciary while looking into all allegations revealed by Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer last month.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.