BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Even Zaid distances himself from RPK

Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin has been chided by yet another politician seen close to him, after the resignation of Haris Ibrahim as president of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement, following condemnatory statements on Pakatan Rakyat.

Former cabinet minister-turned-opposition politician Zaid Ibrahim, who now heads KITA, expressed shock over Petra’s interview, saying he could not understand how the opposition could be strengthened by lambasting Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim through the media.

“It’s not that he (Petra) had anything new against Anwar Ibrahim like what he had said prior to the Sarawak state election. It was the same thing, and I won't repeat it.

"What I fail to understand is, why did Petra choose to attack Anwar from all angles, and at the same time he wanted to see a stronger opposition?” Zaid, who fell out with Anwar during the PKR polls in 2010, wrote on his blog.

While agreeing with Petra that Pakatan Rakyat was more than about Anwar, Zaid reminded him that the opposition was a big movement and a strong alternative voice for the people.

“Thus, it is not logical to move some of the opposition parties (of which Anwar is a part) and still say that this was to strengthen the opposition,” he said.

Zaid's statement is the second time he appears to break from his past hard hitting comments about Pakatan Rakyat and Anwar.

Last month, he announced that his KITA party would not field any candidates in the next general election so as not to jeopardise Pakatan Rakyat's chances.

“We want to fight for the unity and harmony for all the people of Malaysia. Those who claim want to make the opposition stronger but are willing to oust some leaders out of disagreement cannot be taken as allies.

"Petra is definitely at the wrong side. In battlefield, we must learn to value everyone’s contribution but only for those who want to see democracy lives on,” he stressed.

Speaking to several UMNO-owned media, Petra had said that Anwar had issues of morality which made the PKR de-facto leader not a suitable prime ministerial candidate should Pakatan Rakyat take over the government. He had also announced that the MCLM, the group touted as a 'third force', would not field any candidates for the 13th general election.

The remark prompted Haris Ibrahim to resign as MCLM president, saying Petra's statements undermined efforts to oust BN in the coming polls. Similarly, rights lawyers Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Sreekant Pillai who had offered themselves as MCLM candidates, said they would no longer support MCLM.

-Harakahdaily