Anwar's guidelines will help finalise decision on PAS talks - Rafizi

PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli said guidelines set by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim only make it easier for the party to finalise a decision on talks with PAS.

Rafizi opined Anwar's latest statement should not misconstrued as an agreement to halt Pakatan Harapan's discussions on seat allocation in order to persuade PAS to cooperate until the last minute.

"If Anwar's clear guidelines, Harapan's decision and PAS' rejection are all not enough to enable a final decision by PKR on the matter, the grassroots have a right to use the party's constitutional provision to call for a special congress to come to a final decision," said Rafizi in a statement today.

The Pandan lawmaker noted how some quarters had claimed that the incarcerated leader's statement had proven that the strategy to negotiate with PAS until the last minute was Anwar's own idea.

As a result, Rafizi noted how some PKR and Harapan supporters had even resorted to attacking Anwar on the matter.

However, he pointed out that Anwar's access to information on various matters was restricted, more so as most of his information comes through his lawyers R Sivarasa, Latheefa Koya and N Surendran.

All three lawyers, said Rafizi, are in favour of working with PAS to avoid three-cornered fights.

Rafizi, however, said Anwar's statement had reaffirmed how any cooperation with PAS must be one that includes Harapan as a whole, as opposed to one that is between PKR and PAS only.

Rafizi also pointed out that Anwar had said that discussions with PAS must be based on PAS' willingness to discuss, and that any kind of cooperation with PAS must take into account a national election strategy, as opposed to one that is limited to Selangor only, among others.

The PKR vice-president said his call for a special congress to resolve the issue of whether or not to continue talks with PAS was based on latest developments in view of the guidelines set by Anwar.

The Harapan presidential council, he said, had decided to reject any discussion on seat allocations with PAS as it would only delay Harapan's preparations for the election.

On having national cooperation with PAS, Rafizi pointed out how PAS leaders have continued to state that their party would contest in the previous seats it had contested under the Pakatan Rakyat banner.

"(PAS deputy president) Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man's statement stressed that negotiations can only occur if PAS seats are left untouched.

"As such, it is impossible for there to be any kind of cooperation as this leaves no room for Parti Amanah Negara and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia to contest when they should be given the chance to do so."

And PAS to date, he added, continues to remain firm about not negotiating with both PKR and Harapan.

Selangor PAS, for example, had even declared it will contest in 42 state seats as well as Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali's Gombak parliamentary constituency.

Agreeing with Anwar on the need for a special congress that "it doesn't have to resort to that", Rafizi said this is because the decision to be made on the matter is crystal clear.

"Championing the rakyat's issues is a better strategy to win the votes of PAS supporters than negotiating with leaders, which has found a dead end," he added.

Anwar yesterday said he was not against the special congress proposed by Rafizi, but expressed concern about holding the congress when the upcoming general election is close.

His statement comes in the wake of an internal dispute within PKR that led to its Kelantan members to stage a mutiny against its leaders, who are deemed too friendly to PAS.

Rafizi further brought the issue into the limelight by calling for a special congress to conclusively resolve the issue of whether or not to continue talks with PAS.

The Pakatan Harapan coalition subsequently stated that there would be no cooperation with PAS, while the PKR political bureau reaffirmed the party’s commitment to the coalition.

Anwar, who is currently serving a five-year prison sentence, said he had read statements by Rafizi and other PKR leaders, and urged the party leadership to handle such concerns wisely and through consensus.

Shedding more light on the political bureau's decision, he said the bureau had decided that it would not make enemies out of PAS and study the possibility of avoiding three-cornered fights. -Mkini