Anwar Ibrahim warned UMNO that Malaysians would vote BN out of Putrajaya in 13th General Election

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim fired a stern warning to his detractors that the people would vote BN out of Putrajaya in the next polls, whether he is in jail or not.

penang pkr cny open house 160210 anwarHe said the people were so fed up that they were all geared up to kick out the UMNO-dominated federal government and replace it with Pakatan Rakyat.

Speaking today to a large crowd at a Chinese New Year open house in Machang Bubok, Penang, Anwar said BN, UMNO, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and even his wife Rosmah Mansor “should not live under false illusions.”

“They should not have this wrong perception that the voters would back the ruling coalition if I were to be jailed,” said Anwar in reference to the ongoing Sodomy II trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

“Let me tell you all, that the people of Malaysia will rise to the occasion against UMNO and BN in the next general election – whether I am in jail or not. Everywhere we’ve went, the people (we see) are ready to kick out UMNO and BN,” he said.

He said the people have long lost their trust on UMMO and BN due to corruption that infected the Putrajaya administration to its core. Due to massive corruption, Anwar said Malaysia had now fallen on the wayside economically even within the ASEAN region.

“We are now lagging far behind Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and even Vietnam in both economic growth and competitive edge. We are only better than Burma and Zimbabwe,” said the Permatang Pauh MP.

‘What has UMNO done for Penang Malays?’

The open house was hosted by PKR’s Machang Bubok state assemblyperson and Penang state assembly deputy speaker Tan Hock Leong. Other PKR notables also present were Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman, executive councillor Law Choo Kiang, assemblypersons Maktar Shapee (Sungai Bakap) and Sim Tze Tzin (Pantai Jerejak).

The sole PAS state representative Mohd Salleh Man (Permatang Pasir) was also one of the guests at the openhouse. Anwar also cast doubts on UMNO’s moral standing in questioning the current Penang government led by chief minister Lim Guan Eng “for not doing enough for the Penang Malay community.”

“What UMNO has done for Penang Malays since independence until it lost the last general election?” he asked. “All the good things done by Umno in Penang were carried out when I was an UMNO minister. I am ready to face anyone on this,” he challenged.

He said the current UMNO leaders in Penang were only interested pocketing riches for themselves at the expense of public interest. He said PKR would back the state government so long as chief minister Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general, continues to deliver the goods for the people.

“Lim is doing a good job here. We are here today to show full support to his government,” he said, calling on the crowd to back Pakatan to retain the DAP-led Penang government in the next round. “Penang is important for Pakatan and for me . . . we must win it again in the next election,” said the Penang-born Anwar.
22/02/10

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