A large PKR dinner function in Petaling Jaya last night was supposed to be an upbeat fund raiser filled with song and dance. But as the night progressed, the tune slowly changed.
This was despite the party and its supporters having legitimate reasons to celebrate. In a month, PKR will be celebrating the first anniversary of its reign over Selangor. In a few more months, the party will turn a decade old.
But last night, the party had no choice but to celebrate its milestones while fending off a spate of crises that have stricken the party.
Even the man of the night, de facto party leader Anwar Ibrahim, was in no mood to celebrate and showed up guns ablazing.
"They rob your money. They take your land. They steal contracts. But when we give cows to the poor, they want to charge us," said a livid Anwar, who apologised several times during his 30-minute speech over an uncharacteristic and unbridled display of anger.
Anwar was referring to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission’s (MACC) announcement that they were going after Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim over graft charges.
Khalid defends himself
Khalid has been accused of abusing his power over a state agency’s distribution of cows for slaughter in the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary constituency and maintenance of his personal car.
Khalid himself, however, last night appeared unperturbed by the allegations and neither was the 5,000-strong crowd, who gave him a standing ovation upon his arrival.
When he took to the podium later, Khalid reiterated that he was innocent of the charges leveled against him and accused Barisan Nasional of using the MACC to attack the party.
"We are not afraid of MACC. We believe that what we do is not for ourselves but for Selangor and her people," said Khalid, who added, to the amusement of many, that he does not even eat beef.
Meanwhile, party information chief Tian Chua told the crowd that the corruption charges were a sign of double standards as the countless reports against BN have been ignored by the authorities.
"It is true, our elected representatives have no experience - they have no experience in being corrupt and no experience in inciting racial hatred," he said in Khalid’s defence.
"Over the months, they will be using even dirtier tactics to smear us. Today it is Khalid. Yesterday it was Elizabeth Wong. But we will not back down and we will stand with the people," said Tian to loud applause from the floor.
Crowd cheers for Wong
Wong, the Bukit Lanjan state representative and state executive councillor, is currently on leave after intimate pictures of her surfaced in public.
Despite the controversy, the dinner crowd clapped and cheered when her picture appeared on a large projector screen when a short film featuring PKR leaders was played.
In their speeches, Anwar, Khalid and Tian all pinned the blame on BN for Wong's predicament.
Although angry during much of his speech, Anwar appeared in a happier mood when talking about Wong.
"Me and (my wife Dr Wan) Azizah (Wan Ismail) now check our rooms for cameras. Every night before we sleep, I ask Azizah, ‘Are you sure you have checked?’" he quipped, prompting laughter from the floor.
Najib flayed
As in all his ceramah, Anwar launched a vitriolic attack on Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, whom he credited as the main culprit behind the ‘disappearances’ of certain figures and a limp economy.
"In the past, Altantuya disappeared. When she was found, she was in pieces. Later, Balasubramaniam disappeared. No one knows where he is. Then, two of our Perak excos go missing.
"All this ‘missing person’ cases, have something to do with the deputy prime minister. Do you want to be led by leaders tainted with criminal acts, corruption and abuse of power?" he asked.
On the economy, Anwar said as opposition leader, he had called on the government to revise the 2009 budget last year, which Najib. who is also finance minister, brushed off.
"Finally, last week he said that on March 10 he would introduce a mini-budget. My reaction is, he has no time to do a mini-budget because he is busy with mini-kidnappings," he said.
The dinner, themed ‘Keadilan - A new hope for Malaysia’ was organised by Selayang MP William Leong and was mostly targeted at raising funds from the suburban Chinese crowd, who paid RM50 per head for a seat.
Almost all 500 tables were filled and about 1,000 non-paying guests and curious onlookers surrounded the stage and Padang Timur where the dinner was held, to hear Anwar speak.
malaysiakini
23/02/09
This was despite the party and its supporters having legitimate reasons to celebrate. In a month, PKR will be celebrating the first anniversary of its reign over Selangor. In a few more months, the party will turn a decade old.
But last night, the party had no choice but to celebrate its milestones while fending off a spate of crises that have stricken the party.
Even the man of the night, de facto party leader Anwar Ibrahim, was in no mood to celebrate and showed up guns ablazing.
"They rob your money. They take your land. They steal contracts. But when we give cows to the poor, they want to charge us," said a livid Anwar, who apologised several times during his 30-minute speech over an uncharacteristic and unbridled display of anger.
Anwar was referring to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission’s (MACC) announcement that they were going after Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim over graft charges.
Khalid defends himself
Khalid has been accused of abusing his power over a state agency’s distribution of cows for slaughter in the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary constituency and maintenance of his personal car.
Khalid himself, however, last night appeared unperturbed by the allegations and neither was the 5,000-strong crowd, who gave him a standing ovation upon his arrival.
When he took to the podium later, Khalid reiterated that he was innocent of the charges leveled against him and accused Barisan Nasional of using the MACC to attack the party.
"We are not afraid of MACC. We believe that what we do is not for ourselves but for Selangor and her people," said Khalid, who added, to the amusement of many, that he does not even eat beef.
Meanwhile, party information chief Tian Chua told the crowd that the corruption charges were a sign of double standards as the countless reports against BN have been ignored by the authorities.
"It is true, our elected representatives have no experience - they have no experience in being corrupt and no experience in inciting racial hatred," he said in Khalid’s defence.
"Over the months, they will be using even dirtier tactics to smear us. Today it is Khalid. Yesterday it was Elizabeth Wong. But we will not back down and we will stand with the people," said Tian to loud applause from the floor.
Crowd cheers for Wong
Wong, the Bukit Lanjan state representative and state executive councillor, is currently on leave after intimate pictures of her surfaced in public.
Despite the controversy, the dinner crowd clapped and cheered when her picture appeared on a large projector screen when a short film featuring PKR leaders was played.
In their speeches, Anwar, Khalid and Tian all pinned the blame on BN for Wong's predicament.
Although angry during much of his speech, Anwar appeared in a happier mood when talking about Wong.
"Me and (my wife Dr Wan) Azizah (Wan Ismail) now check our rooms for cameras. Every night before we sleep, I ask Azizah, ‘Are you sure you have checked?’" he quipped, prompting laughter from the floor.
Najib flayed
As in all his ceramah, Anwar launched a vitriolic attack on Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, whom he credited as the main culprit behind the ‘disappearances’ of certain figures and a limp economy.
"In the past, Altantuya disappeared. When she was found, she was in pieces. Later, Balasubramaniam disappeared. No one knows where he is. Then, two of our Perak excos go missing.
"All this ‘missing person’ cases, have something to do with the deputy prime minister. Do you want to be led by leaders tainted with criminal acts, corruption and abuse of power?" he asked.
On the economy, Anwar said as opposition leader, he had called on the government to revise the 2009 budget last year, which Najib. who is also finance minister, brushed off.
"Finally, last week he said that on March 10 he would introduce a mini-budget. My reaction is, he has no time to do a mini-budget because he is busy with mini-kidnappings," he said.
The dinner, themed ‘Keadilan - A new hope for Malaysia’ was organised by Selayang MP William Leong and was mostly targeted at raising funds from the suburban Chinese crowd, who paid RM50 per head for a seat.
Almost all 500 tables were filled and about 1,000 non-paying guests and curious onlookers surrounded the stage and Padang Timur where the dinner was held, to hear Anwar speak.
malaysiakini
23/02/09
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