GE15 | Some 200 people, most of them first-time voters, showed up at a dialogue session with Anwar Ibrahim on what he has to offer if he is made prime minister should Pakatan Harapan win the 15th general election (GE15).
The event, dubbed “Ada apa dengan korupsi”, jointly organised by the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) Student Union and Universiti Malaya (UM) Student Union, was held in Nexus Bangsar South.
IIUM Student Union president Aliff Naif said the event was meant for university students to engage in a dialogue with the prime ministerial candidate.
“I am satisfied with the engagement session today. This event was held to allow the students to pose their questions directly to Anwar, regardless of how critical it is.
“As you can see, the students asked so many questions, with some touching on sensitive issues,” Aliff said.
“Initially, we wanted to hold a debate between the prime minister candidates. But we only managed to get Anwar to attend our event. Since he was the only speaker, the dialogue session was held instead.”
He said his colleagues in the union made efforts to contact BN and Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders but to no avail.
“We also tried to contact the other parliamentary candidates. Some of them did not respond and some withdrew themselves,” added Aliff.
Aliff also revealed that the group attempted to apply to hold the event on the IIUM campus, but the request was turned down by the management as no political event is allowed in universities during the election campaign.
In the 60-minute dialogue session, Anwar was grilled about Harapan’s choice of the candidate for Sungai Buloh, R Ramanan, who has been implicated in an alleged fraud case. He was also asked to respond to Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who questioned Anwar’s ability as a premier.
The students also asked Anwar about his efforts in combatting corruption when he was the country’s deputy prime minister in the 1990s.
Toward the end of the dialogue session, Anwar was also asked how he would ensure the Malay voters that their rights would not be eroded for the non-Malays.
This prompted Anwar, who is contesting the Tambun parliamentary seat in Perak, to say that he needed to rush to the constituency for a campaign event as more questions rained upon him.
‘Harapan will re-evaluate megaprojects’
Earlier, Anwar said he had tried to adopt an anti-corruption provision from Hong Kong when he was the acting prime minister.
“However, the then attorney-general was in cahoots with the prime minister and axed the provision,” he said.
Anwar also said he would review the 10-year 5G contract awarded to Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) via direct negotiation.
“When I become the prime minister, I will ask the professionals and experts to sit down and review this matter. We will find out the rationale behind the contract, the cost involved and the alternatives in strengthening 4G networks in Malaysia.
“These issues should be thrashed out by the professionals, not by corrupt politicians,” he said.
Anwar said the BN and PN administrations were obsessed with megaprojects, possibly for the lucrative commissions linked to the projects.
“Should we stop these projects? No. If the big companies want to develop these projects, we should facilitate the process. But government procurements and projects need not necessarily go to them (big companies),” he said.
Anwar also did not rule out the possibility of Harapan holding talks with Sabah and Sarawak political parties after GE15, adding that the coalition is confident of bagging about 80 parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia.
“If we get a majority, it eases the formation of government and the implementation of our programmes. Should we not negotiate with Sabah and Sarawak parties?
“Definitely, for we want the government to represent all races and all territories. But, wait until after the general election,” he said.
Impressed youths
Sarah Hadi, 24, came just for Anwar.
“I grew up listening to Anwar’s speeches since I was 15. His speeches are great, his Islamic take is not meant to hit out at others.
“He is more philosophical and touches on the way of living as a Muslim, how Islam says no to corruption. It is unlike other parties that are telling others to vote for them (despite corruption).
“Yes, I have made my decision,” said Sarah, a graphic designer.
Luqman Hazri, 26, said he would support Harapan, which stressed the need to eliminate corruption once it wins the general election.
“I am here as I want to hear from Anwar. I was unable to vote in the 2018 general election as I was furthering my studies abroad,” said the dentist.
“This time, I am looking at the bigger picture so I will choose a political party over the candidates,” he said.
Luqman, who is a Sungai Buloh voter, said he would not support BN partly because it had failed to safeguard the fate of junior contract doctors.
“Almost all my dentist friends (in training) resigned, myself included,” he said.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old first-time voter Cassandra Tan said she was impressed by Anwar’s speech.
“I am undecided as I am still confused with the current political scenario and I will find out about these political parties,” said the Bukit Mertajam voter.
“In his speech, Anwar portrayed a (bright) future for Malaysia, which is close to the ideal future in my heart. It makes me confident about the future of the nation.
“For this reason, I may consider giving Harapan a try,” added Tan. - Mkini
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