Bersatu treachery reason for PKR caution on Muda and others - Anwar

 

INTERVIEW | Any decisions made by Pakatan Harapan to officially accept new coalition partners for the forthcoming 15th general election must be carefully deliberated to avoid a repeat of Bersatu's treachery, Anwar Ibrahim said.

In an interview with Malaysiakini, the Harapan chairperson said that aside from Muda, the coalition also received a letter from PSM, seeking to rekindle ties and explore possible election cooperation.

"I think we can continue to engage, since these parties' policies are quite close to Harapan.

"But I will leave it to the presidential council, and later on to have the committee deliberate in detail," the PKR president said yesterday, ahead of a meeting to be held this afternoon at the party's headquarters.

Anwar attributed Harapan's cautious stance to its failed pact with Bersatu that ended with the Sheraton Move, which saw Bersatu taking over Putrajaya as leader of Perikatan Nasional, together with BN, PAS and GPS.

"Because the experience in the past with Bersatu was tough, they reneged all the commitments on issues of multi-racial agenda, to get rid of corruption, and of course, for PKR we cannot be absolved from these excesses because many of our leaders were involved in this treachery," Anwar added.

While Harapan components DAP and Amanah appear to welcome Muda's intention to join the coalition, a segment within PKR - particularly the party's youth wing - had expressed resistance to the idea, listing out at least 10 preconditions which must be fulfilled.

In response, Muda deputy president Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz said her party accepts the reservations and expressed readiness to formally meet with Harapan leaders on the matter.

The Puteri Wangsa assemblyperson also stressed that Muda is only eyeing to contest in seats currently held by Bersatu, a point of contention triggered by her party's move to contest against PKR in Larkin during the last Johor state election.

Aside from deliberating on the membership applications, Anwar also confirmed that the Harapan presidential council will today discuss the new look of a common Harapan logo for all of the coalition's GE15 candidates.

"A new design, but I think there will be minimal changes," said the Port Dickson MP, stressing that the final option must be accepted by all parties, as well as relatable to the supporters.

Last month, the Harapan presidential council announced its decision that all four component parties have agreed to contest under a new common logo.

This would be a departure from the coalition's last outing during the Johor state election, when only DAP and Amanah candidates used the current Harapan logo, while PKR opted to stand under its own party symbol.

In GE14, Harapan candidates, including those from Bersatu, had contested on a PKR logo - deemed as being most recognisable - as Harapan was yet to be registered at the time.

'Seat negotiations easier now'

Among Harapan components, Anwar said the coalition's recent retreat had cemented a commitment to working towards GE15, with senior party leaders accepting views from the younger generation of members.

"Naturally, there will be differences. But I honestly don't feel there is a substantive difference. None. Even seat negotiations, it’s much easier now.

"Because we have quarrelled for a long time since 1999," he quipped, referring to PKR's electoral debut with DAP and PAS at the time as then Pakatan Rakyat.

Previously, PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli said Harapan is expected to settle seat negotiations among its components by Sept 30.

On analysts' predictions of forming post-election coalitions, Anwar said Harapan's focus remains on winning seats in GE15, pointing out that some projections were made without taking into account ground sentiments among voters.

"Sometimes they were right, but many times they were wrong.

"In 2013, they just ruled out (Pakatan Rakyat) completely, although we did (eventually) secure the majority of the (popular) votes.

"If I were to be guided only by the so-called analysts and the surveys, we (Harapan) would have given up a long time ago," Anwar said.

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- Mkini