Since his unceremonious exit from government in 1998 and the ensuing saga of legal battles and imprisonment, she has always been a pillar of support.
So tongues wagged when Anwar Ibrahim filed his nomination papers to challenge his wife for the PKR president post and his rivals painted the town red over this.
But insiders claimed that it was part of a strategy to prevent Azmin Ali, the current number two, from contesting for the number one post.
Anwar confirmed that the move was part of a larger plan at a press conference this morning but claimed that it was to safeguard the party leadership
"My battle is not with Wan Azizah. We are a formidable team. Hidup mati kami bersama (Till death do us part) we are together...
"It is BN which asks how can Anwar unite Pakatan (Rakyat) when he is contesting against his own wife. But my battle is with them," he added.
'I don't care a damn about myself'
Anwar also stressed that his fight to win the presidency is with the Registrar of Societies (ROS).
"Don't worry, at the end of the day, it is either Anwar or Wan Azizah who will contest. One of us will pull out," he said.
The opposition leader said he would not have been troubled if he were to be penalised for contesting the post, but is concerned that PKR faces the risk of de-registration.
"If it's about me, they have done everything that can be done to me already. I don't care a damn about it.
"But when it comes to the party, there is a genuine concern and we are looking into the matter,” he added.
Anwar may not be eligible to contest the post as he has been convicted of sodomy and faces a five-year jail sentence.
The ROS has yet to make its stand clear on this. Under special circumstances, it can allow a convicted individual to run for a party post.
Candidates' interviews to be probed
At a separate press conference, the PKR central election committee revealed that it would look into interviews given by deputy presidency candidates Saifuddin Nasution and Azmin toNew Straits Times and TV3.
Its chairperson Johari Abdul said this will be done before April 21 - when the candidacy list will be finalised - to determine if the interviews have run foul of election committee regulations.
He reminded candidates not to be "critical of the party or fellow-candidates".
He also said that former Penang deputy chief minister Mansor Othman has pulled out of the vice-presidential race, leaving 14 candidates to vie for the four elected posts.
"I cannot make a decision on my own. I will let the committee collectively decide," he added.
So tongues wagged when Anwar Ibrahim filed his nomination papers to challenge his wife for the PKR president post and his rivals painted the town red over this.
But insiders claimed that it was part of a strategy to prevent Azmin Ali, the current number two, from contesting for the number one post.
Anwar confirmed that the move was part of a larger plan at a press conference this morning but claimed that it was to safeguard the party leadership
"My battle is not with Wan Azizah. We are a formidable team. Hidup mati kami bersama (Till death do us part) we are together..."It is BN which asks how can Anwar unite Pakatan (Rakyat) when he is contesting against his own wife. But my battle is with them," he added.
'I don't care a damn about myself'
Anwar also stressed that his fight to win the presidency is with the Registrar of Societies (ROS).
"Don't worry, at the end of the day, it is either Anwar or Wan Azizah who will contest. One of us will pull out," he said.
The opposition leader said he would not have been troubled if he were to be penalised for contesting the post, but is concerned that PKR faces the risk of de-registration.
"If it's about me, they have done everything that can be done to me already. I don't care a damn about it.
"But when it comes to the party, there is a genuine concern and we are looking into the matter,” he added.
Anwar may not be eligible to contest the post as he has been convicted of sodomy and faces a five-year jail sentence.
The ROS has yet to make its stand clear on this. Under special circumstances, it can allow a convicted individual to run for a party post.
Candidates' interviews to be probed
At a separate press conference, the PKR central election committee revealed that it would look into interviews given by deputy presidency candidates Saifuddin Nasution and Azmin toNew Straits Times and TV3.
Its chairperson Johari Abdul said this will be done before April 21 - when the candidacy list will be finalised - to determine if the interviews have run foul of election committee regulations.
He reminded candidates not to be "critical of the party or fellow-candidates".
He also said that former Penang deputy chief minister Mansor Othman has pulled out of the vice-presidential race, leaving 14 candidates to vie for the four elected posts.
"I cannot make a decision on my own. I will let the committee collectively decide," he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.