KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 – Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will hold its first convention in December, as part of plans to put in place a formal coalition before the next general election.
The Malaysian Insider understands that the leaders of PKR, DAP and PAS agreed yesterday to hold the convention, at a PR leadership council meeting chaired by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
At the December convention PR will hope to unveil common ideals and principles that will distinguish the alliance from that of the Barisan Nasional (BN) ruling coalition.
The often fractious ties between the three parties in PR now have made the push for a common platform gain momentum in recent months.
PR has been wracked with controversies, differences and disputes especially in Selangor, Penang and Kedah which is led by chief ministers from each party.
Datuk Zaid Ibrahim recently offered the public a glimpse of a PR federal government by outlining a common platform that includes an anti-discrimination law, abolishing the ISA and relaxing of legislation like the Sedition Act and press laws.
Zaid, who has been given the job of casting in stone common ground for the disparate alliance criticised for having no shared ideology, said a PR administration would also introduce an economic policy with safety nets and a new education strategy to produce more competitive graduates.
But Zaid will likely find it easier to find common ground between his party, PKR, and DAP, than with PAS.
PAS’s conservative spine is bound to push for more Islamic principles to be placed in any common platform, and this may not sit well with those in PKR and DAP.
The Malaysian Insider understands that at yesterday’s PR leadership council meeting, various working groups have been given the job of fleshing out common principles.
These common principles will be centred somewhat on the manifesto of the Barisan Alternatif (BA), the loose alliance the three parties formed for the 1999 elections soon after Anwar’s sacking as DPM and subsequent sentencing to jail.
PKR, DAP and PAS came together under Anwar’s reformasi platform that year.
But it was not until last year’s general elections that the alliance gained significant ground on BN.
The three PR parties won five states in the March 8 general election last year apart from winning 82 out of the 222-seat parliament, bloodying the nose of BN which has ruled Malaysia since Merdeka in 1957 when it was the Alliance.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who engineered a putsch to bring down the Perak PR government when three lawmakers turned independent, has vowed to win back Selangor.
Kelantan remains strong under the leadership of PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who has helmed the state since 1990.
In Penang, PKR leaders feel that the state government led by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has been riding roughshod over them with the last straw being Guan Eng’s aide Jeff Ooi branding this month a PKR municipal councillor as extremist for being part of the missionary Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM). Ooi has since withdrawn the statement.
In Kedah, the sole DAP state councillor Lee Guan Aik declared himself independent in early July in protest over the demolition of an illegal pig abattoir. Top PR leaders resolved the issue that showed cracks in the alliance.
A similar issue cropped up last month when PAS Selangor chief Datuk Hassan Ali demanded that state councillor Ronnie Liu quit for getting the Shah Alam municipal council to return illegally-seized beer from a convenience store.
Hassan had wanted the municipal council enforce religious laws and prohibit shops in Muslim-majority areas from selling beer. Selangor mentri besar, PKR’s Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has asked shops to practise self-regulation to head off the crisis.
A resurgent Umno, the dominant party in the 13-member BN, has been capitalising on these issues.
A recent poll of likely voters also showed that while BN still holds a slight edge over PR, there is a still a significant bank of undecided voters for both coalitions to try to court for the next general elections.
In the poll, two of the most key concerns voters have about PR is its constant bickering and the fact that it is perceived as having no viable candidate to be a prime minister.
MI
15/09/09
The Malaysian Insider understands that the leaders of PKR, DAP and PAS agreed yesterday to hold the convention, at a PR leadership council meeting chaired by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
At the December convention PR will hope to unveil common ideals and principles that will distinguish the alliance from that of the Barisan Nasional (BN) ruling coalition.
The often fractious ties between the three parties in PR now have made the push for a common platform gain momentum in recent months.
PR has been wracked with controversies, differences and disputes especially in Selangor, Penang and Kedah which is led by chief ministers from each party.
Datuk Zaid Ibrahim recently offered the public a glimpse of a PR federal government by outlining a common platform that includes an anti-discrimination law, abolishing the ISA and relaxing of legislation like the Sedition Act and press laws.
Zaid, who has been given the job of casting in stone common ground for the disparate alliance criticised for having no shared ideology, said a PR administration would also introduce an economic policy with safety nets and a new education strategy to produce more competitive graduates.
But Zaid will likely find it easier to find common ground between his party, PKR, and DAP, than with PAS.
PAS’s conservative spine is bound to push for more Islamic principles to be placed in any common platform, and this may not sit well with those in PKR and DAP.
The Malaysian Insider understands that at yesterday’s PR leadership council meeting, various working groups have been given the job of fleshing out common principles.
These common principles will be centred somewhat on the manifesto of the Barisan Alternatif (BA), the loose alliance the three parties formed for the 1999 elections soon after Anwar’s sacking as DPM and subsequent sentencing to jail.
PKR, DAP and PAS came together under Anwar’s reformasi platform that year.
But it was not until last year’s general elections that the alliance gained significant ground on BN.
The three PR parties won five states in the March 8 general election last year apart from winning 82 out of the 222-seat parliament, bloodying the nose of BN which has ruled Malaysia since Merdeka in 1957 when it was the Alliance.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who engineered a putsch to bring down the Perak PR government when three lawmakers turned independent, has vowed to win back Selangor.
Kelantan remains strong under the leadership of PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who has helmed the state since 1990.
In Penang, PKR leaders feel that the state government led by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has been riding roughshod over them with the last straw being Guan Eng’s aide Jeff Ooi branding this month a PKR municipal councillor as extremist for being part of the missionary Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM). Ooi has since withdrawn the statement.
In Kedah, the sole DAP state councillor Lee Guan Aik declared himself independent in early July in protest over the demolition of an illegal pig abattoir. Top PR leaders resolved the issue that showed cracks in the alliance.
A similar issue cropped up last month when PAS Selangor chief Datuk Hassan Ali demanded that state councillor Ronnie Liu quit for getting the Shah Alam municipal council to return illegally-seized beer from a convenience store.
Hassan had wanted the municipal council enforce religious laws and prohibit shops in Muslim-majority areas from selling beer. Selangor mentri besar, PKR’s Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has asked shops to practise self-regulation to head off the crisis.
A resurgent Umno, the dominant party in the 13-member BN, has been capitalising on these issues.
A recent poll of likely voters also showed that while BN still holds a slight edge over PR, there is a still a significant bank of undecided voters for both coalitions to try to court for the next general elections.
In the poll, two of the most key concerns voters have about PR is its constant bickering and the fact that it is perceived as having no viable candidate to be a prime minister.
MI
15/09/09
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