6 days to GE13, Anwar is "MORE OPTIMISTIC" of winning but warns PR needs more than 51%

Buoyed by giant crowds that have been swamping the political rallies held by his Pakatan Rakyat coalition throughout the country, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has revised upwards his expectations of winning Malaysia's 13th general election.

However, he declined to state the number of seats the PR could possibly, cautioning that PR would need more than a 51% chance to win given the widespread complaints of electoral fraud by polls observers and gerrymandering by past BN governments.

"I remain cautiously optimistic and Datuk Seri  Najib repeated my phrase in Al-Jazeera (interview) that he is also cautiously optimistic ... so I will try to use a different phrase. I would say that if we look at the mood and enthusiasm post nomination and also the UM-related poll, I am of course rather more optimistic now," Anwar told a press conference on Monday.

"But we have appealed to our supporters not to be overconfident, to work doubly hard because in the case and the evidence we have adduced with regards to electoral fraud and the electoral roll, we need to have 1 or 2 percentage points above 51% because the conduct of the elections is such that we will not win with 51% because we have to discount the fraud."

The 64-year-old leader said his assessment was based on "work on the ground, house-to-house campaign and the machinery on the ground".

Police, prayers and debate

Anwar also expressed grave concern over the rise in "political violence" across the country, calling on the police to act swiftly and efficiently and to provide information as promptly as possible to the public so as not to allow rumors to foment and create a sense of panic.

"On our part, we will call on our supporters not to take the bait or be any part of provocative acts in the run-up to the elections," Anwar told a press conference on Monday.

He again called on Prime Minister Najib Razak to accept a debate with the PR leadership before May 4 as "this is the best way for the people to gauge what each side had to offer the nation's future".

Anwar also announced that Nik Aziz, the PAS spiritual adviser, would be leading nationwide special Maghrib prayers (usually at 7.15pm) on May 3 to pray for a safe and peaceful polls on May 5.

MORE TO COME

Malaysia Chronicle