Pakatan manifesto in cartoons

The manifesto is a remedy that will solve many problems, says cartoonist Zunar in explaining why he and his team chose to come up with this.

PETALING JAYA: The cartoon version of the Pakatan Rakyat manifesto, created by Kumpulan Kartunis Independen, was launched at the PKR headquarters today.

Kumpulan Kartunis Independen which consists of 35 cartoonists led by Zulkiflee SM Anwar Ulhaque, better known as Zunar, stressed that their work was created independently.

“We are not affiliated to any political party and we did not receive payment or orders from any political party.

“We agreed to support the Pakatan manifesto because we believe that it is not just a political manifesto per se, but a manifesto for the rakyat,” said Zunar.

He added that they are giving their full support to the Pakatan manifesto because “issues like abolishing the AES and PTPTN are truly related to the people”.

“The manifesto is a remedy that would solve many problems,” he said.

He also pointed out that the Pakatan manifesto is different from Barisan Nasional’s initiatives.

“BN does not provide remedies, instead it only gives pain-killers,” he said, citing the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) as an example.

Zunar added that the cartoon version of the Pakatan manifesto will be released in the form of various merchandises such as leaflets, booklets, T-shirts, umbrellas and animation.

“All merchandises will be completed in one to two weeks’ time. We will advertise about them in newspapers such as Suara Keadilan,” he said.

Zunar said they decided to contribute towards this cause for free because “this is our contribution for the people of Malaysia”.

“A manifesto as good as this would not be promoted in the mainstream media.

“We feel that it is our duty to convey the manifesto to the masses in a creative way. The use of cartoons would hopefully make the people understand the manifesto clearly,” he added.

Zunar also said that as an effort to further promote the manifesto, the cartoonists will be embarking on a “Cartoon Tour” using their van until the general election.

“As cartoonists, we are also the rakyat, and we feel that the general election is not only about BN against Pakatan, but also BN against the rakyat,” he added.