Anwar confident Harapan will now refocus on struggle instead of PM candidate

Geraldine TongPublished: Jul 4, 2020 11:18 PM

PKR president Anwar Ibrahim said that following his meetings with DAP and Amanah leaders over the past week, Pakatan Harapan will now refocus on their struggle and fight for the rakyat instead of being distracted by the prime ministerial candidate issue.

“I am confident that Harapan, from what I can see from my meetings with the DAP, Amanah and PKR leadership this week, especially in the last few days, I think we will return to focus on fighting for the rakyat, focus on the issue of poverty (and others).

“Otherwise, the current prime minister and the ministers will do whatever they like. As we are busy talking about the (prime ministerial) candidate, they are busy distributing wealth (among themselves).

“The number of unemployed is almost reaching 1.5 million but to win the hearts of the leaders and MPs, they are all given rewards one by one,” Anwar said in a Facebook Live session tonight.

He said there were so many ministers and deputy ministers in the cabinet that the public does not recognise most of them especially because they do not know what these leaders are doing.

Harapan, meanwhile, must remember what is more important and that is to return to their struggle, he said.

“We cannot act as if we are still exposing our necks and still being dragged here and there, breaking up and fighting and then following his whims on the candidate,” Anwar said.

Though he did not mention names, he was likely referring to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Previously, Mahathir had been suggested as Harapan’s prime ministerial candidate again in their counter-coup efforts against the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

Shortly after PKR rejected this, Mahathir then announced that Warisan president Shafie Apdal had been proposed for the position and that this proposal had the support of DAP and Amanah.

DAP and Amanah, however, said they viewed Shafie's nomination as an option and needed to discuss the matter internally as well as at the Harapan presidential council.

Anwar took another veiled jab at Mahathir when he said Harapan should not rely on a “brittle branch that will later stab” them.

“I stress to Harapan, if we want to stay together to maintain the course of our struggle, we should not dismantle the spirit of Harapan.

“We should not act as if we are desperate and forced to rely on a brittle branch that will later stab us as what has happened before. (By) resigning as he likes without referring to anyone, he caused a mess for us, breaking our principles as well as our manifesto and other things,” he said.

Mahathir had resigned as prime minister on Feb 24 after former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali triggered a coup in what is now dubbed as the Sheraton Move.

At that time, it had been speculated that Mahathir resigned as he did not want to work with those who had initiated the coup.

However, Mahathir’s resignation effectively meant the dissolution of the Harapan cabinet, which eventually led to the formation of the PN government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

In the past month, Harapan and its allies have claimed that they have enough support amongst MPs to wrest back power but their momentum was halted by an impasse between Mahathir and Anwar over who should be the coalition's prime ministerial candidate.

PKR has been opposed to Mahathir as the prime ministerial candidate and wants Anwar instead.

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If Anwar is damn right, why is his own daughter, Nurul is coming out to strengthen the PKR party and not a word to support her own father to become the PM? And the paid cybertroopers attacked Mahatir, Dap and Amanah relentlessly and not nurul. If her own father is damn right, what's wrong voicing her support to him? Something is not right here, no?

YellowMarlin883405:51 AM, 05 Jul 2020

"... I think we will return to focus on fighting for the rakyat, focus on the issue of poverty (and others). “Otherwise, the current prime minister and the ministers will do whatever they like. As we are busy talking about the (prime ministerial) candidate, they are busy distributing wealth (among themselves)...." Anwar, as usual is talking as if he is a much vaunted statesman which he is not. Not yet anyway. How the hell are you going to fight for the rakyat when you are not in power? This PN Govt has and will continue to do what they like as we have seen. All your cries about extending Parliament in its half day sitting fell on deaf years. Ministers and deputies as well as GLCs heads are being appointed as they like. You think they care what you say?? Come on Anwar, don't kid yourself. This mess about the PM candidate is squarely on your shoulders. The solution was for Tun to be the PM and you take over in 6 months time. You are the one not agreeable though Amanah and DAP are. Even if Tun do not eventually honour his promise (which I am certain he will), PH would be in power and able to make a difference. Do not blame this "mess" on Tun. It's on you and you only Anwar. Amanah and DAP might as well review their alliance with PKR as it will not get them anywhere. PKR will act as a "Big Brother" and all have to fall in line with what PKR (or rather you) want. You are already acting as such by not compromising in the PM candidate when you yourself are not able to get majority support. DAP has been around twice (2x) longer than PKR has so it should not play second fiddle to PKR. Seek new alliances with Amanah and some other moderates and move on. PKR itself, internally are in shambles. So let not kid ourselves that the renewed PH can represent the people as a credible alternative to the PN.

OrangePanther146605:49 AM, 05 Jul 2020

Once PH miss to pass the vote of no confidence in July sitting Anwar and PKR shout of "Reformation" would be just a hollow sound as the opposition would never have this chance again to take Putrajaya! PKR could shout reformasi for generations to come without any impact.Malays would always vote Malay based parties and Anwar still panders to the majority who despised him and yet Anwar thinks PKR would do well in GE15! Many of his MPs would lose their seats if Anwar at more than 75 years old still want to lead PKR .

BlueShark154805:26 AM, 05 Jul 2020

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YellowMarlin883405:51 AM, 05 Jul 2020

OrangePanther146605:49 AM, 05 Jul 2020

BlueShark154805:26 AM, 05 Jul 2020

Never take things for granted. Not so soon. This brings to mind the confidence and exuberance of Najib and Hadi at mooting two/three corner fights and each playing spoilers for one another to thwart Harapan's anti-kleptocracy march to Putrajaya in GE14. Mukafart candidates fell like ten pins. Ask any gambler - for something that took 61 years the odds are certainly much better in 5 years. The Mukafart goose was cooked in GE14 when two Malay parties were vying for the same Malay voter base. Imagine three Malay parties depending on the same Malay votes in GE15. Politics is an ever changing game and those that count the chickens before they hatch may end up as good as their rhetoric.

Anonymous 30006:00 AM, 05 Jul 2020

Yes, we hope that all three PH parties are now moving in synergy and not distracted by the PM candidate which frankly, doubt they will grab enough majority without GPS or accepting traitors back (which many will not agree anyway). It is time to refocus on issues that are important to the Rakyat and for the better future of Malaysia while need to intensify the effort to educate and lobby support especially rural Malay on why PH is a much better solution address their fear. We need Rafizi and Tony back to the front while Nurul already stepped up. The twenty two months in Government at least stop the bleeding and allow many to gain governing experience at federal level despite we all heartbroken that the Rakyat mandate has been betrayed .. we also hope that UmNo politicians have also leaned a good lesson that they cannot assume the support rendered to them cannot be taken for granted and thus, have certain restraint on their pursuit of power and personal agenda .. For PH, need to re-strengthen the partnership and trust after the fiasco of PM candidate .. dont let the Mandate slowed down or side tracked because of hidden agenda of your short term partner who never shared the vision fully and avoid rush to power but costing the foundation of the PH ..

Reset03:54 AM, 05 Jul 2020

Kampung Malays do not accept Anwar, will never accept Anwar. He has no idea how to win over his own Malay brothers and sisters. How to be PM when majority race rejects you?

PurpleKoala998802:00 AM, 05 Jul 2020

Nothing is permanent in politics and it is not a zero sum game. If that is so Harapan would not have come the distance. And Harapan's vision isn't merely about premiership but its reform agenda to eradicate abuses and corruption and correct the socioeconomic imbalance and set the country in the proper direction. And that would benefit the majority race more than the others.

Anonymous 30005:03 AM, 05 Jul 2020

Great! Stay on course and be the great Opposition Leader. The country needs to become Malaysia, Truly Asia Again! That won't happen with a Malay-centric PN government that will only benefit politicians and their cronies. Ordinary Malays are still left behind, even as they are led to believe only a Malay-centric government is their only way to survive the rich, town-owning Chinese that old man so recently and unfairly described.

Apa ini04:50 PM, 04 Jul 2020

Great, focus on the people and what you should do for them, rather than fight his war and dreams. Not only he is very unreliable, continuing to working with him will break-up or even destroy PH. Remember what Hadi did PR. If DAP and AMANAH wants the votes, they should focus on the people. Despite their bravado display, PN has been on wits end trying hard to win people and time. That is not the way to get into people's hearts. The next national level elections could be a decisive one that may possibly change the course of this nation. People are tired and fed-up. They want the country to move forward with good governance and people's welfare as the most important issue they want the politicians to focus on. PH lost this round because of two main reasons - Mahathir and PPBM. Lesson learnt and to be learnt - more important than getting to Putrajaya is to get the people on your side. Ignore Warisan and GPS - the dent has already been made. Make use of the time now to build and strategise in those two states. The people of those two states deserve better. Kelantan has been one of the poorer states. Get a very honest and a simple Malay to propel that state from what it is now to one of the vibrant financial centres. This state has been off the radar for far too long and the mistrust that has been built by PAS to dislike the NM has to stop. No one is or can touch the Constitutional guarantees. We have agreed on that and ALL the NM I have spoken to hold to the letter those guarantees. Malays were here before we all made this our home. We should honour and defend those Constitutional guarantees but unfortunately a few have hijacked it, leaving the majority of Malays not getting their dues. Anwar has mentioned this a number of times and we should support him to redress the loss and peril they have suffered. Talk to the Malays and find out why they are so reluctant and sensitive. What do Malay leaders talk - they have still not achieved "targets" despite their leadership. And this is true but this did not happen because the NM stood in their way. The Malay leaders failed them. Money for properties and movies but people are still struggling. That is bad. The BR1M is one way of making the people forget to ask questions. This is a sad side and sad part of history that we have to address and redress. I am very sure when the common Malays have what has been due to them they will have no cause or reason to quarrel with the NM. This is what politicians are preventing from happening. I don't mind the IGP being a Malay but he is also my IGP and I want him to see that as I don't have another IGP to turn to. This is but an example of how we view and want. Similarly, we have no problem in Malays in whatever positions they are but when it is messed with politics it starts dividing people and hence divide the country. The British dictum of "divide and rule (or conquer) is an outdated concept. Do we need more proof than the mess we are in today what such policies have turned this into. Very very bad politicians have made it their careers to pit the Malays against NM. Frankly speaking, this country has been blessed with minorities (NM) who understand the plight and predicament of the Malays and as far as I know have not stood in the way of what they rightly deserve. Since independence, NM have been supporting the then Alliance and then its successor, the BN and this has ensured that BN always had the 2/3 majority. DAP was never on their plate. Even during the reformasi period, the NM never deserted the BN. Tunku Razaleigh failed to convince the NM too. Then who drove them to the opposition? The NM are simply fed-up. When someone talks about RM2 million as his pocket money or petty cash, doesn't that irk you? For sure, the NM are going to hold their ground. It is no point to say that one represents all Malaysians but what we see is a bluff. We are part of this nation and we want our voice. It is not about the DAP, PKR or Amanah. Tg Piai is more than enough to show that. People are more matured and reasonable to see beyond that. We want our fair share of representation and not "dummies" like the MCA and MIC. Leaders should address this anomaly. We are not just spots, we are citizens of this country. The govt should listen to us, the elders, who are moderate and wish good for all races. The younger generation may not be like us and we can see the restlessness among them. Do something to bring the people together before we end up tearing each other. The PN leaders have got it all wrong. Is a majority of two or three a Govt really? Does that guarantee stability? Is scheming and dealing what you want the younger generation to learn and continue wrecking the trust that we have only in a distant memory? Where are our role models?

Kilimanjaro04:48 PM, 04 Jul 2020

It is only Anwar blowing his nose as DAPand Amanah have been behaving maturely, not coming out with any joint statement. Seriously they are not on the same page as Anwar to remain as opposition. Without a malay base as engine, the government is as good as lost. Those PH supporters hoping to see a new government to replace Umno PAS can say goodbye if Anwar heads PH. Gone case

TC04:24 PM, 04 Jul 2020

Stupid decision ! In GE14, PH won the general election because they have a clear leader in Mahathir strategizing and rallying all the different parties. Only when all the opposition parties are united and support one common leader, then only the different strengths of all the parties can be combined to be a strong force capable of defeating the enemy ! Now Anwar is asking them to go back to good old days of to each his own leader ? PN and Muhyiddin must be celebrating on finally able to divide and conquer PH !

no difference04:08 PM, 04 Jul 2020