Anwar: Harapan informed speaker I’m new opposition leader
Pakatan Harapan has informed the Dewan Rakyat speaker that Anwar Ibrahim is the new opposition leader, revealed the PKR president today.
Anwar (above) said that Pakatan Harapan secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has informed the speaker of the decision by the opposition coalition....
Pakatan Harapan has informed the Dewan Rakyat speaker that Anwar Ibrahim is the new opposition leader, revealed the PKR president today.
Anwar (above) said that Pakatan Harapan secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has informed the speaker of the decision by the opposition coalition.
“Saifuddin has informed the speaker of the Harapan presidential council's decision and he has also informed all those aligned with the opposition, and Warisan.
“I have been named as the new opposition leader once more,” he said during a live broadcast on his official Facebook today.
The Port Dickson MP was responding to a question during the broadcast on whether the opposition has finalised who will be the opposition leader and if the speaker has been informed of it.
Previously on April 25, Malaysiakini reported that Harapan, the largest opposition bloc, had yet to decide on who will be the opposition leader.
At that time, there were two possible candidates - Harapan's de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is Bersatu chairperson and Langkawi MP.
To a question on whether Malaysia can achieve true national unity in light of certain groups seemingly unable to forego their advantage against each other, Anwar said that he does not share the view that the country is in deplorable condition in terms of racism.
“This is only exploited by a coterie of the political elite who are desperate to cling to power and trying to ignore national unity, which is of paramount importance,” he said.
He said that the majority of Malaysians of various races have demonstrated during the Covid-19 epidemic their capacity to help and care for each other.
“Look at how we handle Covid-19, with nurses, doctors, police, army personnel, and workers on the street, and cleaners (among others) of all races protecting all races.
“Look at the number of NGOs and well-meaning Malaysians helping one another to buy food and distribute it,” he said.
In a statement later, Pakatan Harapan said they had discussed the issue of the opposition leader at their presidential council meetings on March 21 and April 26.
“Generally, the position of the opposition leader is given priority to the party in the opposition bloc which has the most number of parliamentarians.
“At the same time, the choice of opposition leader is done by taking into account the views of all parliamentarians in the opposition bloc,” said Harapan secretariat chief Saifuddin Nasution in the statement.
However, he said DAP which has the highest number of parliamentarians in Harapan, had informed the presidential council that they will not take on the role of opposition leader, he said.
That is why the presidential council had agreed to name Anwar as the opposition leader, after which Mahathir was informed as well as Shafie Apdal who is the Warisan president, the Sabah chief minister as well as the Semporna MP.
A letter detailing this decision had been sent to the Dewan Rakyat speaker’s office on Monday (May 4) while another letter had been sent today to the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of parliament and legal affairs, Saifuddin said.
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