(Dikemas kini) KUALA LUMPUR: Ketika tinggal kurang seminggu, Pakatan Rakyat mengubah tarikh mencapai sasaran membentuk kerajaan persekutuan? Jawapannya nampak menjurus ke arah itu berdasarkan kenyataan terbaru Ketua Umum Pakatan Rakyat, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim malam tadi.

Kata beliau, sasaran 16 September bagi membentuk kerajaan yang baru boleh dianjak ke satu tarikh yang lain jika wujud masalah yang boleh menghalang proses peralihan kuasa seperti yang dirancang.

“Walaupun kita sudah ada sasaran iaitu pada 16 September, tapi gambaran setakat ini hasil perbincangan bersama PAS dan DAP, tarikh itu boleh kita anjak… kalau tak jadi 16 haribulan mungkin 20 haribulan kerana tarikh itu juga ada sejarah.

“Tapi saya fikir dalam keadaan sekarang adalah susah bagi mereka (kerajaan Barisan Nasional) untuk gagalkan kehendak dan kebangkitan rakyat,” kata beliau semasa menyampaikan ucapan selepas majlis solat tarawih dan hajat di rumahnya di Bukit Segambut malam tadi.

Anwar menyatakan demikian sehari selepas pemimpin-pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat mengadakan pertemuan hampir tiga jam pagi kelmarin susulan pertemuan informal lebih dua jam di ibu negara Ahad lalu.

Ketika ditemui semalam, beliau menjelaskan bahawa perancangan untuk membentuk kerajaan berjalan dengan lancar.setakat ini.

Bagaimanapun malam tadi Anwar berkata, perbincangan secara terpeinci akan diadakan bersama pemimpin parti-parti komponen Pakatan Rakyat iaitu Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), PAS dan DAP bagi meneliti sebarang risiko yang bakal terjadi.

“Esok saya perlu ikuti prosedur mahkamah. Jadi kemungkinan pada sebelah petangnya atau hari berikutnya kita akan bermesyuarat mengenai persediaan kita menghadapi 16 September,” katanya.

Anwar, bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri akan muncul di Mahkamah Sesyen Jalan Duta di sini esok bagi mendengar sebutan semula kes liwat melibatkan bekas pembantu peribadinya, Mohd. Saiful Bukhari, 23.

Anwar mengumumkan pelan sasaran 16 September enam bulan lalu iaitu sejurus selepas pilihan raya umum ke-12 diadakan.

Tambah beliau, jumlah Ahli Parlimen Barisan Nasional (BN) yang akan lompat parti menyertai Pakatan Rakyat sudah mencukupi.

“Jumlah mereka kita sudah ada. Tapi disebabkan mereka pergi lawatan ‘menghayati Ramadan’ di Taiwan kita perlu tunggu dahulu,” katanya.

Menurut beliau lagi. ada antara Ahli Parlimen BN yang menyertai lawatan tersebut telah berjanji kepadanya untuk meneruskan matlamat mereka meninggalkan BN.

“Saya ada dapat maklumat bahawa mereka yang pergi itu tidak dibenarkan pulang sebelum 16 September bagi mengahalang sasaran kita,” katanya.

Article source:

mSTAR Online

IT looks like the stage is set for an epic fight between giant-killer wannabe Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah and Pakatan Rakyat heavyweight Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.

Both sides have expressed confidence of winning, with Arif Shah carrying the Barisan Nasional flag and Anwar contesting on a Parti Keadilan Rakyat ticket.

Nomination for the by-election will be held at the Tuanku Bainun Teacher Training College this morning, with top leaders from both sides expected to be present in full force.

Among the BN leaders expected are BN deputy chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak and all component party chiefs while Pakatan Rakyat would have PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang in attendance.

Arif Shah is determined to put up a strong fight in the PKR stronghold while Anwar is optimistic of his chances.

“I have a good track record here and the people know what they can expect from me if I am elected. I have been doing my rounds in this area since way back and Permatang Pauh is not new to me,” Arif Shah said.

He said he was not afraid of facing Anwar in the by-election and was going in as an underdog.

“I was the Permatang Pauh division Youth chief when Anwar was heading the division. We know each other well. I respect him as a friend and I hope we can have a clean contest without personal attacks.

“The people here have been under the opposition for the last nine years. I believe they want a change and I am ever willing to be a service-oriented assemblyman.

“It might look tough for us but in the end I am confident that we have a good chance of winning this seat.”

The response to the supposed underdog has been overwhelming with Arif Shah being stopped by well wishers at every turn.

So busy was he today that he left Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Noh Omar waiting for over an hour at an event, before calling to apologise and ask for a later meeting.

Anwar, on the other hand, said while he remained confident of winning, the Pakatan Rakyat could not afford to rest easy.

“We will be facing a daunting task against the BN machinery. They have already started attacking us by using a racist approach.

“However, I am thankful for the strong support shown to me by our fellow Pakatan Rakyat friends,” he said after visiting a DAP ops centre in Taman Arowana yesterday.

Anwar said he also relished the prospect of taking on Arif Shah.

“I don’t have any problems with him on a personal level as a friend but we will be talking about policies in this by-election,” he said.

On his challenger’s ability to interact closely with Chinese voters due to his fluency in Hokkien and Mandarin, Anwar said it was more important for the people to choose a leader who could articulate a vision for all Malaysians.

The Permatang Pauh by-election is going to see both sides fighting tooth and nail to ensure victory.

The election result would determine not only the future of Pakatan Rakyat but also whether the BN has regained some of the support it lost in the March 8 general election.

Article source:

The New Straits Times

BN lawmakers reject former prime minister’s call to quit the coalition.

TUN Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s obsession with toppling Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration is opening the door of opportunity to the opposition led by his arch-rival Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Dr Mahathir’s naked call for defiance and rebellion against Abdullah has emboldened the opposition, which is now openly wooing the very Barisan Nasional MPs being encouraged by the former premier to quit the coalition.

But the BN lawmakers are rebuffing Dr Mahathir’s call, most of them saying this would only pave the way for the Opposition to gain control.

Ironically, Dr Mahathir seems to be playing into the hands of Anwar, his former deputy whom he sacked, and whom was subsequently jailed, in 1998.

“I do intend to topple the government, we have the numbers,” Anwar said in Singapore yesterday.

“I’m looking forward to early elections, hopefully before September.

“We will move the moment we are sure we can contest and a vote of no-confidence against the PM in Parliament is our best option.” Dr Mahathir yesterday urged BN MPs to quit the coalition, become independents and force the collapse of the government.

“The new government can only be set up if agreed to by all BN MPs who have left the coalition because they have the power to decide whether BN or Pakatan (Rakyat) can be the majority in Parliament.

If BN replaces Datuk Seri Abdullah with someone brave, the group which has left BN can then support the BN and the BN can form the government again,” he argued in a posting on his blog.

But Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said: “Answering Dr Mahathir’s call will only result in the opposition forming the next government. I find it all very strange.

“By becoming independents, MPs would be betraying the people who voted them into Parliament on a BN ticket.

“This is about running the country and respecting the mandate given to BN to govern…”

Article source:

The New Straits Times

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has asked the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government to take the threat made by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim seriously in that Pakatan Rakyat will form the next federal government in the near future as it had convinced more than 30 BN Members of Parliament to cross over to the opposition front or Pakatan Rakyat.N has 140 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat and Pakatan Rakyat 82 out of a total of 222 MPs.

“Well, I think it is a possibility that you can’t dismiss lightly. Now, these politicians are interested in how much they get, they are not interested really in serving the nation.

“People who feel that they did not get what they wanted presently and they are offered positions, the urge to cross over especially when there is no inherent loyalty to the party.

“I feel very strong (about it), it can really happen. I first wanted to dismiss this possiblity but on studying the situation I feel that there is great danger.

“Now, these politicians are interested in how much they get, they are not interested really in serving the nation.

“Of course, if this government loses power, it will not be in a position to dole out all kinds of goodies because at that time the clout is gone,” he told reporters after delivering a keynote address on “National Sovereignty” at the 7th Perdana Discourse Series at the Perdana Leadership Foundation, here.

Asked if this was his greatest fear, he replied that if the cross-over were to take place, then Malaysia would experience “a lot of conflicts”.

“We see the response of the Malays, for example. They have come up with a list of demands for this and that in response to the demands made by the others. They think that the solution is to abandon this concept of democracy, that they should go back to the feudal style of government.

“There is already talk among them…I don’t know how serious it is but the fact that it is being actually voiced (out) is very disturbing,” Dr Mahathir said.

To another question on where the Opposition would obtain the 30 MPs, the former Prime Minister pointed towards Sabah and Sarawak.

“If we take Umno, MCA and MIC, they have their roots here (in the peninsula) but not in Sabah and Sarawak. Although you have Umno in Sabah, it is transplanted from here to there. They are used to smaller parties. So can we be sure that they will remain strongly loyal to Umno? I don’t think so,” he added.

He said even in the peninsula, there could be MPs who could cross over since they knew that they could be in the new opposition-led government.

Dr Mahathir said this crossing over would not a problem if BN had won by a two-thirds majority in Parliament as even if a BN MP were to cross over, he or she would not be able to gain much since the MP would still be with the Opposition.

“But now if they crossed over, they could be joining another government, they will not lose, in fact they can make money,” said the 83-year-old former leader.

He felt that Pakatan Rakyat was a force to be reckoned with not because it was strong or the people loved the Opposition but because “the feeling of disappointment.”

“(Penang Chief Minister Lim) Guan Eng, for example, is quite smart. He is not antagonising the people, instead he is winning their respect.

“You see in the last election, BN voters and supporters voted for Opposition, thinking that this will send a message to the BN. Apparently the message is not properly read and if the governments headed by the Opposition show good governance, (are) concerned about the people, not greedy, not corrupt, then when the next election comes those who voted for them will continue voting the Opposition,” he said.

Article Source:

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/Frontpage/20080507140911/Article/index_html