Anwar Ibrahim Moves Against Barisan-led Government

Video Clip 1: National Unity and Stability Are Critical

Video Clip 2: Datuk Zaid Ibrahim Determined to Resign

The Star

PUTRAJAYA: Datul Zaid Ibrahim has set his mind on resigning from the Cabinet, citing his disappointment with “meeting a brick wall” from his own colleagues and party members on many of his suggestions for reform.

The former de facto Law Minister also said he did not want many of the problems arising from his proposals earlier to be a burden on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at a time when the latter had to grapple with party conflict and other challenges.

Zaid says he is disappointed. “I don’t want the PM to be beset by problems involving me and it’s better for him to focus instead on other more important matters. Let me not be the problem. Although I thanked the Prime Minister for his suggestion that I go on leave instead, I am not tired. I’m just disappointed so I don’t have to rest.” [more]

Video Clip 3: Anwar: We have the Numbers

The Star

PETALING JAYA: Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has claimed that more than 31 Barisan MPs have agreed to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat.

He, however, refused to reveal the names of the 31 MPs.

Anwar told a press conference at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday that he would give the list of the names to the Prime Minister when he meets him.

The Permatang Pauh MP also claimed that the transition to the new Government has been delayed a few days pending the meeting with Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to ensure a smooth and peaceful transition.

“The numbers are increasing by the hour, but as of now, it is in excess of 31 MPs. [more]

Video Clip 4: The New Government Will Be A Reality

Video Clip 5: Badawi Refuses to Meet with Ibrahim

The Star

KEPALA BATAS: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to reveal the names of the Barisan Nasional MPs the Opposition Leader claims are crossing over to Pakatan Rakyat.

“I don’t think he has the names. If he does, I don’t think he would wait to inform the people (of the names),” he said after giving out aid to the poor at complex Yayasan Budi Penyayang here on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister said he would not entertain Anwar’s request to meet him until the list is made public.

”There is no reason for me to meet him because I don’t think he has the names. He is just getting the people to focus on him and his political ploy. I do not need to see him.” [more]

The Barisan Nasional Hide and Seek Game: MPs get green light to go on overseas study trip

KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Barisan Nasional had given its backbenchers the green light to go on an overseas study tour this month.

Najib, who is the BN chief whip, said he approved the study trip.

“I approve anything that is constructive. It (the study tour) is a programme initiated by the BN Backbenchers’ Club. It is up to them.

“It will be a good opportunity for our backbenchers to learn something,” he said yesterday after launching the Rakan Cop National Service programme.

Najib said the public should not read too much into the trip scheduled on the eve of Sept 16, the date opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has said would see him forming the next government.

Anwar needs 30 backbenchers to defect to topple BN and the sudden nature of the trip has sparked speculation that the BN leadership was sending backbenchers away to pre-empt crossovers.

Yesterday, Najib quashed such talk and Anwar’s plans to form a new government on Sept 16.

Anwar Ibrahim Promises More Responsible Budget

Forbes

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday slammed a widening deficit in the government’s 2009 budget that sparked concerns over Malaysia’s economic health and vowed to unveil a more responsible budget if he topples the ruling coalition this month.

Anwar, who was re-elected to Parliament last week, said his plans to seize power from the National Front coalition through parliamentary defections by Sept. 16 remains on track.

He said he has held talks with ruling party lawmakers and the response was “very good” but declined to elaborate.

“If we can form a government within this short period, then a new (2009) budget will be introduced,” Anwar told reporters. “We are not proceeding with this irresponsible expansionary budget.”

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Friday unveiled a record 208 billion ringgit ($62 billion) budget for 2009, with wide-ranging aid for the poor and higher development spending amid sharply higher inflation.

The fiscal deficit is forecast to balloon to 4.8 percent of gross domestic product this year and 3.6 percent in 2009, from 3.2 percent in 2007.

Anwar said the 4.8 percent deficit was untenable as there were little measures in the budget to boost the country’s productivity and economic competitiveness. [more]

Desperation: Loyalty Pledge Proposed To Tie Down Sabah MPs

The Star

By RUBEN SARIO

KOTA KINABALU: Many of the 24 Sabah Barisan Nasional MPs are rejecting a move to get them to sign a loyalty pledge to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

State Barisan Backbenchers Club chairman Datuk Anifah Aman said the move proposed by Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal was an insult to the Sabah MPs. He added that the pledge should instead be signed by all Barisan MPs nationwide.

He said various Sabah MPs including himself had repeatedly voiced their loyalty to the Barisan leadership and pledged that they had no intention of crossing over to join the opposition.

“We did this during the Permatang Pauh campaign, on television and again in Kota Kinabalu. Is the frequency of denial equivalent to our loyalty?” said Anifah, the Kimanis MP and Kimanis Umno chief.

He said many Sabah Barisan backbenchers had called him asking about the pledge and some had said they felt that they were being treated like “cattle.”

Anifah questioned Shafie’s real intentions for proposing the loyalty pledge and wondered whether it was aimed at scoring “political points” in his bid for the Umno vice-president’s post in the party polls.

Ship is sinking: Barisan leaders’ talk of pullout from coalition worries Muhyiddin

The Star

SINGAPORE: Some Barisan Nasional component party leaders’ comments about the possibility of their parties leaving Barisan has Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin concerned.

“The is a new trend we have not seen in the past and this time around it is being done openly. I am concerned about that,” Muhyiddin told reporters, referring to remarks made by MCA and Gerakan leaders recently.

“Are these remarks brought up because of sheer disappointment? They have to explain,” he said, adding that any random survey would show that there was a mindset shift among the rakyat and not merely in Permatang Pauh.

Muhyiddin said Barisan should not underestimate the changes that are taking place.

“We can have a dialogue with the component parties but what else can we do? That is what we should be asking ourselves. [more]

Fence-sitters hard to read

The Star On Line

Analysis
By JOCELINE TAN

The silence on the ground among the Malay fence-sitters in the Permatang Pauh by-election has both sides worried about which way the swing votes will go.

DATUK Seri Anwar Ibrahim is once again looking like the average Penang Malay bloke.

Days of campaigning under the sun have turned his skin several shades more tanned and dark sunspots have formed on his cheeks. And the last time he was this slim was when he was in prison.

The campaign toll has also been tough for Datuk Arif Shah Omar. He told people he has shed 5kg since the day he was picked as the Barisan Nasional candidate.

But when he stopped by at a wedding luncheon in the PAS stronghold of Guar Perahu yesterday, he ate so heartily his friend teased him: “You said you lost weight but the rice on your plate looks like a small hill.” [more]

Anwar Ibrahim: Merdeka rakyat negara perkasa

Tarikh 31 Ogos merupakan satu tarikh keramat bagi seluruh rakyat Malaysia. Ia menandakan kita merdeka dari penjajahan yang sudah sekian lama menzalimi serta menindas. Beberapa hari lagi maka genap 51 tahun kita merdeka, 51 tahun sudah negara tercinta ini bebas dari penjajahan yang menindas. Namun kita melihat selepas 51 tahun keadaan menjadi lebih buruk. Pengangguran bertambah berkali-kali ganda, inflasi berada di paras tertinggi dalam sejarah yang mengakibatkan kenaikan harga barang secara mendadak, manakala kerajaan tidak mampu untuk menurunkan harga minyak ke paras yang munasabah bagi mengurangkan beban rakyat.

Kerajaan Barisan Nasional yang diketuai UMNO sudah tempang dan gagal memenuhi hasrat rakyat yang inginkan perubahan demi kehidupan yang lebih baik, makmur, harmoni dan adil. Akan tetapi kita kesal demi menggelincirkan proses perubahan, Barisan Nasional sanggup untuk menggunakan politik fitnah dan adu domba.

Saya menyeru penduduk Permatang Pauh agar bersama-sama menolak segala penipuan dan kezaliman yang dilakukan oleh Umno dan Barisan Nasional. Mari kita kuatkan iltizam serta perkukuh tekad perjuangan di dalam kita melawan fitnah serta perancangan jahat Barisan Nasional yang diketuai UMNO.

Marilah kita merdeka dari politik fitnah dan adu domba ini. Teladan yang ditunjukkan oleh Nabi Muhammad S.A.W dan anbiya lainnya seharusnya dijadikan iktibar. Saya menyeru kepada mereka yang terbabit supaya jangan menghina Syariah demi kepentingan politik. Kemukakan bukti dan saksi di Mahkamah Syariah bukannya bersumpah demi memenuhi nafsu politik semata!

26 Ogos 2008, undilah saya demi untuk keluar dari kesengsaraan hidup, rasuah dan kerencatan ekonomi. Bersempena bulan Merdeka ini marilah kita bersama-sama di Permatang Pauh ini mendakap semangat merdeka yang sebenarnya. Kita sampaikan kepada rakyat sudah tiba masanya untuk merdeka dari kesengsaraan hidup, merdeka dari rasuah dan merdeka dari keadaan ekonomi yang lembap. Marilah kita Memerdekakan Rakyat! Demi Memerdekakan Negara!

ANWAR IBRAHIM

Sleaze, Race Dominate Crucial By-Election

IPSnews, by Baradan Kuppusamy

PERMATANG PAUH, Penang, Aug 22 (IPS) – Sleaze and race are dominating the by-election for this constituency where opposition leader and self-proclaimed prime minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim is fighting to return to parliament after a decade-long absence.

Anwar tells voters that if he elected he will be just one step away from toppling the government and replacing it with a new one that is free of racial discrimination and corruption. He proposes to do that by inducing defections from the ranks of the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front coalition) or BN.

In response to Anwar’s challenge, the ruling coalition has unleashed money, patronage and the overwhelming control it has over mainstream media to convince the 58,000 voters in this constituency that Ibrahim is simply unfit to be anything, let alone the next prime minister.

Their main weapons in this campaign are sleaze and the manipulation of racial fears to influence the voters, 70 percent of whom are Muslim-Malays.

One matter persistently used in the campaign is the charge filed against Ibrahim on Jul. 26 that he sodomised a former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan. The trial starts on Sep. 13. [more]

Permatang Pauh: Let people decide, says Anwar

TheSun, Opalyn Mok

GEORGE TOWN (Aug 22, 2008): Let the people decide the outcome of the Permatang Pauh by-election and let Barisan Nasional MPs decide whether they want to cross over to PKR or not, said PKR’s de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar, who is one of the contenders for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, said there is still a possibility of him winning the seat despite seemingly confident remarks by the BN and BN candidate Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah.

“We should just let the people decide on this ultimately,” he said.

As for BN’s claims that he is lying about being able to get 31 MPs to cross over to form a new government come Sept 16, Anwar said the decision lies with the MPs.

“They should let the MPs decide on whether they want to cross over or not when the time comes.”

He said it is a fact that the BN have publicly said it was impossible for the Opposition coalition to deny them a two-third majority in the March elections. [more]

Muhy slams Anwar for seeking sympathy

Daily Express News

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is disappointed with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s penchant for seeking sympathy from foreign countries to the extent of them viewing Malaysia negatively now.

He said foreign interference in Malaysia’s sovereignty was dangerous to the people and nation.

Muhyiddin, who is also International Trade and Industry Minister, said he regarded Anwar’s action in seeking foreign support as compromising the country’s honour and dignity.

“The Barisan Nasional (BN) does not allow foreign powers to interfere in the country’s internal affairs,” he said when meeting BN’s Permatang Pauh by-election machinery at the BN operations room in Jalan Baru, near here, Wednesday.  [more]