Black 14: Anwar announces blueprint for the future

Black 14: Anwar announces blueprint for the future
KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 15 (ES) - Former deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim celebrated the end of the ban on his involvement in active politics several hours ago in front of 'reformasi' chanting crowd by expressing his aim to get the Pakatan Rakyat (Pakatan) into power at federal level.
The People Justice Party (KeADILan) de facto leader said while the Pakatan coalition comprising of KeADILan, Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP) had only 82 seats but "unofficially" it had "more than enough" to form the majority in the 222 seats parliament.
Anwar said ruling party politicians from Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsular had reminded him to "count them in" should he decide to make the move .
In front of thousands of cheering supporters at a historic site famed for the struggle during independence here April 14, Anwar said he was also in no hurry to get elected.
He said KeADILan President Dr Wan Azizah Ismail who is also his wife could fill in for the post of premier, one of the possibities he mentioned. - Saadon Aksah/ES

Anwar: We can form govt but we're not in a hurry

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim speaking to the crowd at the Sultan Sulaiman Club in Kuala Lumpur last night. — NST picture by Effendy Rashid

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim marked his return to active politics last night by claiming that the Pakatan Rakyat could easily form the next government. However, he said the tripartite coalition of opposition parties would only do so provided it had a healthy majority, instead of a majority of only "two or five seats".
Speaking after attending a rally at the Sultan Sulaiman Club by Parti Keadilan Rakyat to welcome him back, he said: "We are saying here for the first time that we are ready (to rule the country). But we will only enter when the majority is comfortable. "The de-facto leader of PKR said, however, that Pakatan Rakyat would not pay Barisan Nasional MPs to cross over in order to achieve its aims of forming the federal government."We are not in a hurry," he said, adding that any Pakatan Rakyat's decision would be reached in a democratic manner.
On his immediate plans, now that the ban on his holding public office was over, Anwar said he was in no hurry and would focus on strengthening Pakatan Rakyat."The priority now is to administer Pakatan Rakyat states as incorruptible and financially transparent, fulfil our promises to the people and give meaning and essence to participatory democracy."
Anwar had been banned from electoral politics for five years after his release from jail after being convicted of corruption and abuse of power. Asked about comments about him by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar said he had for a long time refrained from replying against the personal attacks."He is obsolete, despite having gone through numerous medical treatments. He is getting crazier." Anwar also blamed Dr Mahathir for the current state of the judiciary as well as the Internal Security Act.
Present were PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is Anwar's wife, his daughter and Lembah Pantai MP, Nurul Izzah, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, PKR deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali and vice-president Azmin Ali. Several DAP and Pas leaders were also among the 10,000 who turned up yesterday.
Anwar arrived at 8.50pm to shouts of "reformasi" and later spoke for about an hour before he was stopped by Dang Wangi police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman, who explained that since there was no permit for the gathering, it would have to be stopped.

Malaysia's Anwar says has numbers to topple government

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Monday he has the support of enough defectors from the ruling coalition to seize power, although he will not act until he has a bigger majority.
"Yes, we have enough MPs to topple the government," he told reporters after a rally to celebrate the end of his ban from politics, which was broken up by police.
"We are saying here for the first time that we are ready (to rule the country)," he said. "But we will only enter when the majority is comfortable.
"When we take over we want to initiate the move. Do we want to be a government with a two- or five-seat majority?"

Anwar claims his alliance set to take over govt KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — De facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim looked every inch the prime minister-in-waiting when he calmly announced that his Pakatan Rakyat has the numbers and is ready to form the federal government.
"Now I am saying for the first time that we are ready," Anwar told reporters after a 10,000-strong rally in the historic Sultan Sulaiman Club in central Kuala Lumpur celebrating his formal return to politics. He was barred from active politics until midnight April 14 after a corruption conviction in 1999.
Since 1993 when he won the Umno deputy presidency, veteran opposition leader and former nemesis-turned-ally Lim Kit Siang had tagged Anwar as a prime-minister-in-waiting – a tag he now assumes proudly as burly guards escorted him through the club after they led a convoy of big bikes to deliver him to the club premises in Kampung Baru.
He also said the Pakatan Rakyat (People's Alliance) could appoint his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail – the Parti Keadilan Rakyat president and Parliamentary Opposition leader – as Prime Minister, if he had yet to get a seat in parliament. However, he said the appointment would depend on consensus.

Anwar crafting a comeback in Malaysia

When he emerged from prison four years ago, Anwar Ibrahim was a weakened and gaunt figure all but written off by the Malaysian political elite.
On Monday, Anwar, resurgent and confident after leading opposition parties to their strongest gains in a half-century, will celebrate his political rehabilitation in front of an expected crowd of thousands of supporters at a soccer stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
During his nearly four decades in politics, Anwar, 60, has gone from being a radical Islamic student leader to deputy prime minister and then Malaysia's dissident-in-chief, imprisoned after a highly politicized trial. A ban on holding political office, imposed by the judge who in 1999 sentenced him to six years in prison for abuse of power, expires Monday, allowing Anwar to pursue the job he has coveted: prime minister.
"There's no rush," Anwar said in an interview at his office. "I don't need to be prime minister tomorrow."

Anwar Asks PM To Conduct Open Investigation On Dr M
KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (Bernama) -- Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim Monday night asked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to conduct an open investigation on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for alleged excesses when he was the prime minister for 22 years.Anwar alleged that Dr Mahathir had destroyed the judicial system, abused power and misused public funds, including for his children.The PKR de facto leader addressed about 10,000 people at a so-called Black 14 gathering at the Sultan Suleiman Club in Kampung Baru here to celebrate the end of the five-year ban on his holding public office following his conviction on corruption charges.Anwar was convicted of corruption after he was sacked as the deputy prime minister and finance minister in September 1998 and sentenced to six years in jail.At Monday night's gathering, Anwar asked his supporters to be patient for two more weeks for his announcement on whether he would contest a by-election to become an elected representative.-- BERNAMA