Sarawak PKR chief hails Anwar’s release, hopes reform reaches across sea

Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian has welcomed the release of former deputy prime minister and de facto PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim from prison, and expressed hopes that a new era of reform would enable Sarawak to play a larger role in the country’s development.

“We have truly been liberated this GE14 and Anwar’s release is a manifestation of the freedom and ‘lightness of spirit’ that Malaysians have felt these past seven days,” he said in a statement yesterday.

According to the newly-minted Selangau parliamentarian, Anwar’s release is evidence that wrongs are being righted, and that the country is being steered back to the path of truth and justice.

Baru Bian who is also Ba'Kelalan assemblyperson said he is thankful that freedom for Anwar came earlier than expected, and the process went on smoothly due to close co-operation between the Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and all parties involved.

He commended Anwar for saying that it was Mahathir’s prerogative to appoint the members of his cabinet, in consultation with party leaders. “This is a reassuring sign of confidence in the new government, and a resolve that the agenda for reform is paramount now,” Baru Bian said.

With regards to Sarawak’s role in the new Harapan government, Baru Bian said that they had been “assured” that Sarawak would be “given the opportunity to participate fully in the running of the country, as envisaged by our forefathers when the Malaysia Agreement was signed in 1963”.

“For 54 years, Sarawakians had been sidelined and treated like ‘poor cousins’ by the BN government, resulting in our current status as one of the poorest and least developed states in the country.

“I believe that the Harapan government will be different, and that Sarawak will be able to take our rightful place as a partner in the Federation of Malaysia, and to play a significant role in the rebuilding of our nation,” Baru Bian added.

Anwar was given a royal pardon yesterday, which will now enable him to actively rejoin politics. -Mkini