New Post has been published on The Rakyat Post
New Post has been published on http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/02/10/anwar-behind-bars-power-mongering-will-destroy-pkr-says-ex-pkr-man/
With Anwar behind bars, power-mongering will destroy PKR, says ex-PKR man
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10, 2015:
Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (Kita) leader Zamil Ibrahim claimed that many PKR leaders were quietly happy that its de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was heading back to jail for five years.
Anwar’s plan to overturn his Sodomy 2 conviction in the nation’s highest court failed after the Federal Court ruled that the Permatang Pauh MP was guilty of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
With Anwar behind bars, he will not be able to interfere in party matters as he has always done.
“Anwar treats the party as if it belongs to him and brushed aside those who do not agree with his methods.
“Now that he is gone, the party will openly split into two or three main factions very soon as its leaders think of gaining and keeping power.
“Anwar can still try to give instructions from jail, but I don’t think they will obey,” he told The Rakyat Post.
He said the biggest losers would be cronies aligned to PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail.
Zamil, a former PKR Youth exco member for seven years, also dismissed the ability of PKR to rally massive demonstrations.
He said this was because many PKR leaders were afraid of losing their positions and benefits as elected representatives.
“It’s different from the Reformasi in 1998 as they nothing to lose back then.
“Now that they had tasted power, they are careful not to be disqualified from office,” he said.
An elected representative can be disqualified if he is fined more than RM2,000 or sentenced to jail of more than a year.
Zamil added that the jailing of Anwar would hasten the break up of Pakatan Rakyat, saying the coalition had already showed severe disunity.
This, he said, was evident from the lack of turnout by Pakatan leaders and its supporters at the Palace of Justice today.
DAP election strategist and Serdang Member of Parliament Dr Ong Kian Ming, who was at the court, expressed confidence that Pakatan would remain strong despite Anwar’s sodomy conviction.
“I do not think that Pakatan will fall apart as new leaders will rise up.
“It is also unfair to say that the support for Pakatan had gone based on the turnout today.
“We should be realistic as today is a working day,” said Ong, who described today as a sad day for the judiciary, opining the reasons given by the judge are disgraceful.
Ong added that Anwar’s sodomy conviction would help public sentiment to prevail in the sense that injustice had been done.
Malay NGO Martabat Jalinan Muhibbah Malaysia (MJMM) leader Abdul Rani Kulup Abdullah said the case should have been decided a long time ago.
“The only reason it dragged so long was because Anwar did not want to admit his wrongdoing.
“The court did the right thing in sending him back to jail,” he said.
Abdul Rani urged the people to stay calm and not to take to the streets just because PKR leaders try to instigate them.
He said the sodomy conviction was Anwar’s personal problem and the nation should not be dragged into it any further.
He advised Anwar supporters not to disturb the peace and accept the court decision without blaming it on political interference.
Abdul Rani said they should take it as a blessing in disguise as Pakatan may come out stronger.
“Leaders come and go but organisations remain.
“Perhaps new leaders will rise up out of this crisis,” he said.