‘I’LL BE IN PARLIAMENT TO SUPPORT DR M’
A member of parliament has invited me to take over his seat, says Anwar
DATUK Seri Anwar Ibrahim says he plans to return to Parliament to implement reforms in the august house, and serve as a backbencher in support of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration.
Anwar, who is incoming PKR president, however, was coy on when he planned to run in a parliamentary by-election.
He said he would “not wait for a by-election to happen naturally”, but added that a “changing of the guard” would have to take place soon.
It is believed that Anwar was referring to the relegation of several authorities held by the cabinet to Parliament.
“By waiting for a by-election to take place naturally, it means that a Parliament member has to die. That is a stupid (stand).
“(But) a changing of the guard needs to take place soon, according to the consensus reached (by Pakatan Harapan leaders).
“I will be in Parliament to support Dr Mahathir (as prime minister), and not to ask him to step down from the government. We will allow him to lead without any pressure.
“(A) member of parliament has invited me to take over his seat. I’m looking into that. I do not feel awkward about the invitation.
“A changing of the guard is normal. The decision was made through party consensus when I was in jail. We do not have to be in a rush for it to take effect.
“I will talk to the prime minister on efforts to reform Parliament so that certain powers are not solely held by the cabinet.
“(As to when will I participate in a by-election), that we have to ask a fortune-teller,” Anwar said at the PKR headquarters yesterday.
Present was his wife, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the outgoing PKR president.
Anwar reminded PKR candidates in government positions not to abuse their power to win votes. He said campaigning for the party election must be carried out ethically.
“We need to contest in a familial spirit, as the party demands reform and ethics.
“We must remember that PKR was formed to combat power abuse and corruption.
“Candidates must refrain from abusing power, which means deputy prime minister, minister, deputy ministers and executive councillors cannot use their positions to entice or coerce members to vote for them.”
He said at the same time, the party election committee must exercise fairness in their duties, without fear or favour.
“The committee must be clean and free. It is different now. The committee must be strict in monitoring the election.
“Such concerns over what will happen otherwise have been raised and heard.
“I said such practices must be stopped following suggestions that there are publications (siaran-siaran) that attacked and insulted personalities, and these must be avoided.
“As long as I have been given the mandate to lead, I will not compromise on power abuse, arrogance, corruption and wastage.”
The PKR polls are scheduled to begin on Sept 14 and will take place over the course of nine weeks.
Official results will be announced at the PKR national congress in November.