PENANG, 8 Feb 2009: DAP national chairperson Karpal Singh has described Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor and de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as unfit to be party leader for promoting a culture of party hopping.
Karpal, who is also Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukit Gelugor, also hit out at the Opposition Leader saying, “Anwar Ibrahim must repent for his action, and Pakatan Rakyat should look for a new leader and not one that promotes party hopping.”
He was speaking to reporters today, following a police report lodged by Umno Youth over his move to sue the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, who had consented to the formation of a new Perak state government under the Barisan Nasional (BN).
Karpal also stressed that Anwar should answer a lot of questions pertaining to the current turmoil in Pakatan Rakyat.
Karpal’s remarks came in the wake of the Pakatan Rakyat losing the Perak government to the BN on Friday.
He also expressed his disappointment with a number of PKR and DAP leaders who supported the idea of party hopping.
Karpal said DAP leaders should instead give their support to him as the party’s national chairperson, and not to Anwar.
“I regret that I am not able to get support even from my party leaders. Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng should support me, not give statements supporting Anwar Ibrahim.
“I request support….I am the chairman of DAP. And I warn my party leaders not to push me too far. I have been patient all this while. Don’t make matters come to a head in the interest of Pakatan Rakyat and DAP,” he said.
Karpal said Pakatan Rakyat should ensure that it remained strong and received the people’s full support in the next general election to take over the government from BN.
“Don’t take for granted the trust given by the people. The mandate to form a government should come from the people,” he added.
In an immediate response, the Penang PKR liaison committee took Karpal to task for his remarks.
Its chairperson Datuk Zahrain Mohamed Hashim reminded Karpal that if not for Anwar, the Pakatan Rakyat coalition would not exist today.
“The remarks by Karpal Singh about Anwar are baseless,” he said when contacted. — Bernama
ravi says
Now, now, we mustn’t fight, must we?
Observer says
Why should Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng give Karpal the support when they are not thinking along the same lines as the DAP Chairperson?
Similarly , why didn’t Karpal give his support to Lim Kit Siang or Lim Guan Eng on their stand on BN and Umno excesses and their blame on Najib for rampas kuasa?
The blame should be squarely on Najib and not the palace.
vsp says
Karpal is calling Anwar to step down as the Pakatan head. Miserable Kapal: he wanted to sue the Sultan of Perak and Anwar was against it. I think Anwar is doing the right thing to focus the attack on Najib and the new Menteri Besar and to leave the Sultan out of the picture.
But no, Karpal does not see the big picture. Like a raging bull he will charge into the china shop and smash everything into smithereens. I don’t know why when he sees the “misbehaving royalty†or the “PAS hudud†red flags he will suddenly lose sight of all good judgment and charge out blindly.
Karpal, this is the new reality: the people don’t care whether you succeed to bash the royalty or not, but they want all races to exist together. Before the 2008 election, nobody ever dreamt that this reality would come true if not for the sheer determination of Anwar. Whatever his faults, nobody is perfect, everybody makes mistakes, I will still bet on him.
Karpal, you have not grown up politically. Before this, the people tolerated and cheered your tantrums because they knew that your party had no avenue to dent the mighty BN colossus. But now, your party is part of the ruling coalition in five states. You have to ditch your gutter politics and adapt to to a more civilised and sophisticated mode. Your first salvo during the first parliamentary session is no different from what Bung Mokhtar and other rude BN MPs are doing.
Karpal, just to satisfy your disgust for the royalty, go ahead and sue the Sultan and give ammunition to the BN to divide and rule. Do you want that to happen?
Fikri Roslan says
Mr Singh is absolutely right about Anwar. Anwar is not fit to be the PR leader. He (Mr Singh) should have been more vocal right from the beginning, that is before the general election 2008. However, Mr Singh is just like Kit Siang and his company. Too eager to form a government. Initially he also wanted to use Anwar to beat BN, and was quiet when Anwar encouraged BN MPs to cross. Now, he wants Anwar and Kit Siang to repent. Is he asking Hadi Awang also to repent? Perhaps he should repent, or leave DAP and form his own party. It would be interesting to see how many people would like to join him.