‘Anwar is an attention seeker’

Several BN leaders are appalled at Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's attempt to get Australia to observe Malaysia's general election.

PETALING JAYA: An MIC leader today chided Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim for seeking attention, especially with his call to Australia to observe the coming general election.

MIC vice-president SK Devamany was referring to Anwar’s move to request the Australian government recently to observe the polls, claiming there were a lot of irregularities in the electoral roll.

However, Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr had rejected the former deputy prime minister’s request, saying they cannot and would not influence how Malaysia runs its election.

“It’s very hard for Australia to do anything about how they’re run, as hard as it would be for Malaysia or another government to have a say in how Australian elections are run.

“We’re not the election authority for Malaysia,” Carr was reported as saying.

Election Commission (EC) chairman Abdul Aziz Yusof also criticised Anwar, saying the electoral body had instituted several measures to improve the nation’s election process.

Taking Anwar to task, Devamany said that times have changed and the world community is watching each other’s conduct in the information age.

“No point trying to seek attention from other people. They are watching us all the time,” he said.

As for Anwar’s accusation, the deputy minister said that the Barisan Nasional government is transparent and the former could always voice his grouses to the EC.

“He can always use his position as the opposition leader to get things done. But being the attention seeker he is, Anwar will devise new tactics to keep himself relevant.

“No wonder some Pakatan Rakyat leaders are seeking PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang to become prime minister if the opposition bloc wins the federal polls,” said Devamany.

Risk of being colonised again

Echoing Devamany’s sentiments, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) president M Kayveas said that it was dangerous to get foreign powers to be involved in Malaysia’s election.

He also said that with foreign powers’ aid, the party benefiting from them would be indebted to the former and thus, put Malaysia at risk of being “colonised” again.

“You must understand the days of physical imperialism are long gone. The new method is through controlling our economy, finances and other subtle ways,” said Kayveas.

Kayveas, a former deputy minister, lauded Australia’s decision in not interfering in Malaysia’s domestic affairs.

“They not only respect our democracy but also respect our people,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gerakan Youth chief Lim Lip Sin said that Anwar should have invited Asean countries to monitor the election so that they could learn from Malaysia.

“We should invite Asean countries as they are the closest to us in terms of geopolitics. Why would you want to invite Australia? They have nothing to do with us,” he said.