KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — PKR’s decision to respect Umno over its backing of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has drawn the ire of its long-time ally DAP.
Malaysiakini reported its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng as saying that DAP has made it clear to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that cooperating with Umno is out of the question.
“We have fought with Umno. During the Sabah elections, in Kota Kinabalu, I have already said we will not work with Umno under its leaders Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Najib Razak,” he was quoted as saying.
Lim added that it would make no sense to work with Umno, seeing as how DAP fought against them in the 2018 general election and in unity with its allies out of a desire to remove the then kleptocratic Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
Referring to PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s statement on Wednesday regarding PKR respecting Umno’s stance, the Bagan MP said it implied that PKR is willing to cooperate with Umno.
He said that earlier, on September 23, when Anwar announced he had sufficient numbers to oust the PN government under Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, it was understood that those in support of Anwar included several other political parties and individual MPs, excluding Umno.
“DAP and Pakatan Harapan’s position is very clear. You have to ask PKR what is theirs,” Lim said.
Saifuddin’s statement was in response to Zahid’s earlier statement that same day, where he called for a ceasefire of Umno and PN’s conflict, adding that it is meant to aid the PN in helping the rakyat, amid an economic slowdown due to the pandemic.
He said that all Umno party leaders holding Cabinet posts have since been told to give their undivided attention on taking care of the rakyat’s welfare and easing their burden.
Separately, when asked about Anwar’s September 23 move, which did not see him consult either DAP and Parti Amanah Negara, Lim said they were made to understand the need for confidentiality due to the sensitive nature of the matter.
But he acknowledged that Anwar had been asked if it was appropriate to make an announcement before the matter happened.
“Should it not be made by the proper authority instead of Anwar alone? We were afraid this would damage his credibility. But he was very confident,”
“He made the decision, which is why we were not there when he made the announcement. It was his own personal decision,” Lim said.
