PKR youth denied that cracks have appeared within Pakatan Rakyat and accused Barisan Nasional rumour mill of manufacturing such lies to confuse Permatang Pauh voters and others as well.

pakatan rakyat pr cracks in the party unity penang 150808 02 The movement leader Shamsul Iskandar told a by-election rally in Seberang Jaya, Penang on Thursday night that BN have been disseminating lies about Pakatan fractures to disguise the ruling coalition’s own internal rifts.

“Pakatan is strong and united to fight out this by-election.

“These tales on so-called Pakatan disunity are fabricated stories straight from BN rumour managers.

“Truth is, cracks are visible in BN, be it within or between its coalition partners,” he told some 200 people in the Taman Siakap housing area.

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim is contesting the by-election, which was called after incumbent member of parliament and party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail stepped down last month to pave way for her husband’s return to Parliament after a 10-year hiatus.

BN will field Seberang Jaya state assemblyperson and Sri Kulai Umno branch chief Ariff Shah Omar Shah, 52, to stop the 61-year-old Pakatan premier-designate from earning his rightful place in Malaysian politics as an elected parliamentarian.

Press reports quoting various BN leaders and sources claimed cracks were appearing within Pakatan ranks over the past few weeks, alleging coalition partners PKR and DAP’s unease with PAS’ recent flirtation with Umno.

nik aziz anwar office visit 020708 Although PAS pressed home its stand to remain ‘forever and ever’ in Pakatan after abandoning talks with Umno on Malay-Muslim unity, media speculations persisted.

To quash rumours, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has announced that Pas spiritual advisor Nik Aziz Nik Mat and DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang and local Pakatan leaders would join force in PR’s campaign, and seal his victory.

Shamsul took a swipe at BN for lying to the Permatang Pauh voters because it was running out of issues and ideas to combat the people’s uprising demanding a change in the political governance.

Swearing gimmick

He’s been told of a possible BN gimmick to parade Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan during the by-election campaign holding a ‘Koran-swearing ceremony’ to lend weight to his sodomy allegations against Anwar.

A check showed that such rumours have widely spread across the constituency, and Shamsul called on Permatang Pauh folks to expect the 'ceremony’ to take place a day or two before the polling day on Tuesday Aug 26.

He cautioned Saiful of the religious implications if he failed to adhere to Islamic guidelines.

“He should know that it was not a joking matter to swear on the Muslim holy book and he had to prepare himself according to Islamic teachings for it,” he warned.

pakatan rakyat pr cracks in the party unity penang 150808 04 Earlier, Padang Serai MP N Gobalakrishnan criticised Anwar’s friends-turned-foes for making personal attacks on the PKR supremo so swiftly after they had abandoned the party to join BN.

“They were friends for so long and adoring Anwar as their leader.

“Then they switched camps overnight and suddenly discovered that Anwar was ‘a bad guy’ merely to serve their self-interests,” he said, referring to former PKR Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, Malaysian Indian United Party (MIUP) leader KS Nallakaruppan and Just World Trust director Dr Chandra Muzaffar.