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Malaysia's Mahathir and bitter foe Anwar shake hands in first meeting after 18 years
WORLD NEWSSEPTEMBER 5, 2016 / 10:07 PM / 2 YEARS AGO Malaysia's Mahathir and bitter foe Anwar shake hands in first meeting after 18 years KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad on Monday met Anwar Ibrahim, the jailed de facto leader of the opposition alliance, for the first time in 18 years, signaling growing unity among opponents of scandal-tainted Prime Minister Najib Razak. Malaysia’s political landscape has been shaped for nearly two decades by a bitter feud between Anwar and Mahathir, whose decision to sack Anwar as his deputy sparked an opposition movement, Reformasi, or Reform, in 1998 … for more, go to https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-politics-mahathir/malaysias-mahathir-and-bitter-foe-anwar-shake-hands-in-first-meeting-after-18-years-idUSKCN11B1BB |
That historic handshake in a court room that triggered the downfall of the six-decade-long Umno-led BN regime is still strong?
https://youtu.be/Axmoeh4WxHA (VIDEO: That historic handshake in a court room that triggled the downfall of the mighty Umno-led BN after 60 years)
The PKR deputy presidential election campaign race is an epic of sorts with PKR and Pakatan Harapan (PH) members and leaders washing dirty linen in public.
In a way, it is a good and healthy development because it exposes and keeps Malaysians, either informed or misinformed and updated on politics!
Online news portal Malaysia Chronicle (now suspected to be CIA-backed) has picked up another news portal Free Malaysia Today (FMT)’s article and gave it this headline: REMEMBER HOW AZMIN CAMP SAID MAHATHIR WAS TOO OLD TO BE PM & STARTED AN ‘AZMIN FOR PM’ CAMPAIGN: IN RAFIZI’S TELL-ALL COMMENTS, IT IS CLEAR ONLY ONE CAMP WILL SURVIVE THE PKR POLLS – AND THIS IS GOOD FOR ANWAR’S LONG-DIVIDED, FOREVER-INFIGHTING PARTY
That’s Blow No. 1 to PKR incumbent deputy president Azmin Ali’s campaign to defend his position.
And, consider this other headline Malaysia Chronicle gave to a news report by South China Morning Post: FROM MAHATHIR’S ACTIONS OVER THE PAST 4 MONTHS, I TRUST HIM – ANWAR
That’s possibly Blow No. 2 to Azmin.
And, it has been two years since the historic handshake between Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Dr M) and Anwar Ibrahim in a court room that proved to be the beginning of the downfall of the mighty Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN).
At 93, Dr M is not expected to dabble in anything to tarnish his legacy as Malaysia’s savior. It also won’t be that easy again to get Dr M and Anwar to split again.
For the details, read on:
"REMEMBER HOW AZMIN CAMP SAID MAHATHIR WAS TOO OLD TO BE PM & STARTED AN ‘AZMIN FOR PM’ CAMPAIGN: IN RAFIZI’S TELL-ALL COMMENTS, IT IS CLEAR ONLY ONE CAMP WILL SURVIVE THE PKR POLLS – AND THIS IS GOOD FOR ANWAR’S LONG-DIVIDED, FOREVER-INFIGHTING PARTY
Politics | September 16, 2018
PETALING JAYA – As the contest between Azmin Ali and Rafizi Ramli heats up for the post of PKR deputy president, more revelations are being made about the split in the party.
In the words of Rafizi Ramli, who is trying to unseat Azmin Ali as deputy president in the coming party elections, there has never been such a stark “ideological divide” in PKR.
At a rally in Perai on Sept 13, Azmin said some of those in the party who were criticising him fled the country at the height of the Reformasi movement fearing a crackdown on supporters of PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim after he was sacked as deputy prime minister.
“I am not angry at these people, but I am sometimes frustrated. I can list those who fled. And two years after everything subsided, they came back and started thumping their chests, claiming that they were the real reformists. Looking back at 1998… where were these ‘pure reformists’ then?” he asked.
Today, Rafizi gave details about the differences between the two camps over the past four years that have led to the current messy situation in the party.
In an interview with The Star, Rafizi said Azmin and his allies had been against launching the Pakatan Harapan, preferring a union with PAS.
“Likewise when we decided to bring in Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Bersatu (PPBM) and agreed to the consensus that he becomes the seventh prime minister.
“People like Haniza (PKR Wanita deputy chief Haniza Talha), Zuraida (PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin) and Azmin were against it on the basis that we should have a younger prime minister,” Rafizi was quoted as saying.
In the words of Rafizi Ramli, who is trying to unseat Azmin Ali as deputy president in the coming party elections, there has never been such a stark “ideological divide” in PKR.
At a rally in Perai on Sept 13, Azmin said some of those in the party who were criticising him fled the country at the height of the Reformasi movement fearing a crackdown on supporters of PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim after he was sacked as deputy prime minister.
“I am not angry at these people, but I am sometimes frustrated. I can list those who fled. And two years after everything subsided, they came back and started thumping their chests, claiming that they were the real reformists. Looking back at 1998… where were these ‘pure reformists’ then?” he asked.
Today, Rafizi gave details about the differences between the two camps over the past four years that have led to the current messy situation in the party.
In an interview with The Star, Rafizi said Azmin and his allies had been against launching the Pakatan Harapan, preferring a union with PAS.
“Likewise when we decided to bring in Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Bersatu (PPBM) and agreed to the consensus that he becomes the seventh prime minister.
“People like Haniza (PKR Wanita deputy chief Haniza Talha), Zuraida (PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin) and Azmin were against it on the basis that we should have a younger prime minister,” Rafizi was quoted as saying.
Rafizi also claimed that there were “backdoor arrangements” and moves that had frustrated the key decisions of the party leadership. He did not give details.
With Anwar as the prime minister-in-waiting, the party needed a solid team that moved in one direction, he said.
“While we entertain different opinions, we can’t continuously tear at each other like this on major strategic decisions. We don’t want other backdoor arrangements or discussions or moves that can frustrate (key decisions), because that has always happened in the last four years.
“And there’s enough party people who feel that Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and his group has not necessarily been on the same page with key party decisions,” said Rafizi.
Rafizi said PKR members would need to elect a deputy president who best “fits and complements” Anwar.
He said they could vote Azmin, a cabinet minister, who could use the strength of his track record in government position to strengthen the party further and bring it to a new level.
The other choice, he said, was to opt for a candidate who was active on the ground.
“If the party decides that we want to support Anwar’s leadership by having a much wider grassroots network, then the party members would decide to go with me. It’s two options on what kind of party PKR will be in the next 10 years,” The Star quoted Rafizi as saying. – FMT/Malaysia Chronicle
FROM MAHATHIR’S ACTIONS OVER THE PAST 4 MONTHS, I TRUST HIM – ANWAR
Politics | September 16, 2018
With Anwar as the prime minister-in-waiting, the party needed a solid team that moved in one direction, he said.
“While we entertain different opinions, we can’t continuously tear at each other like this on major strategic decisions. We don’t want other backdoor arrangements or discussions or moves that can frustrate (key decisions), because that has always happened in the last four years.
“And there’s enough party people who feel that Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and his group has not necessarily been on the same page with key party decisions,” said Rafizi.
Rafizi said PKR members would need to elect a deputy president who best “fits and complements” Anwar.
He said they could vote Azmin, a cabinet minister, who could use the strength of his track record in government position to strengthen the party further and bring it to a new level.
The other choice, he said, was to opt for a candidate who was active on the ground.
“If the party decides that we want to support Anwar’s leadership by having a much wider grassroots network, then the party members would decide to go with me. It’s two options on what kind of party PKR will be in the next 10 years,” The Star quoted Rafizi as saying. – FMT/Malaysia Chronicle
FROM MAHATHIR’S ACTIONS OVER THE PAST 4 MONTHS, I TRUST HIM – ANWAR
Politics | September 16, 2018
Malaysia’s designated prime minister-in-waiting, Anwar Ibrahim, said on Saturday that he has no reason to doubt his former political nemesis will hand over the leadership position within two years as planned after sorting out deep-seated issues like corruption.
Anwar and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad put aside their 20-year feud to help their four-party alliance win elections in May, leading to the country’s first change of power since independence from Britain in 1957.
Anwar, 70, was convicted of sodomy in 2015 in a case that he said was politically motivated. He was freed and pardoned by the king shortly after the recent elections.
Anwar and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad put aside their 20-year feud to help their four-party alliance win elections in May, leading to the country’s first change of power since independence from Britain in 1957.
Anwar, 70, was convicted of sodomy in 2015 in a case that he said was politically motivated. He was freed and pardoned by the king shortly after the recent elections.
The alliance had agreed that Mahathir would be prime minister and then hand over the reins to Anwar. On Saturday, Anwar said that contesting a by-election after a lawmaker from his party resigned earlier in the week was “well within the plan” of his eventual succession, but that he was in no rush to take over.
“I think the succession plan is as agreed,” Anwar said. “Let Prime Minister Mahathir conduct the affairs of the state. We support him, that’s important. And I don’t think we should be rushing to it, because he’s playing a very critical role for the country.
Anwar spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the Singapore Summit, which was attended by business leaders and academics from Asia.
He said he has a close relationship with Mahathir and sees no reason to doubt his sincerity, given how he has acted in the four months since the historic electoral victory.
The government has clamped down on corruption by making the country’s anti-corruption body accountable to Parliament instead of just the prime minister, Anwar said.
It also has recovered millions from the US$4.5 billion that reportedly was misappropriated from the indebted 1MDB Malaysian state investment fund, he added.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is facing seven charges of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering involving the transfer of 42 million ringgit (US$10.2 million) into his bank accounts from SRC International, a former unit of the 1MDB fund.
Mahathir, 93, has endorsed Anwar’s move to contest the by-election and said he would not renege on his promise to hand over power, despite not having settled on a date.
A by-election will be held in the southern coastal town of Port Dickson after a lawmaker from Anwar’s party resigned to make way for his comeback. The Election Commission will set a date for the vote, which must be held within two months. – https://www.scmp.com/ Malaysia Chronicle"
“I think the succession plan is as agreed,” Anwar said. “Let Prime Minister Mahathir conduct the affairs of the state. We support him, that’s important. And I don’t think we should be rushing to it, because he’s playing a very critical role for the country.
Anwar spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the Singapore Summit, which was attended by business leaders and academics from Asia.
He said he has a close relationship with Mahathir and sees no reason to doubt his sincerity, given how he has acted in the four months since the historic electoral victory.
The government has clamped down on corruption by making the country’s anti-corruption body accountable to Parliament instead of just the prime minister, Anwar said.
It also has recovered millions from the US$4.5 billion that reportedly was misappropriated from the indebted 1MDB Malaysian state investment fund, he added.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is facing seven charges of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering involving the transfer of 42 million ringgit (US$10.2 million) into his bank accounts from SRC International, a former unit of the 1MDB fund.
Mahathir, 93, has endorsed Anwar’s move to contest the by-election and said he would not renege on his promise to hand over power, despite not having settled on a date.
A by-election will be held in the southern coastal town of Port Dickson after a lawmaker from Anwar’s party resigned to make way for his comeback. The Election Commission will set a date for the vote, which must be held within two months. – https://www.scmp.com/ Malaysia Chronicle"
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| The rapprochement between Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim led to an alliance that swept away a coalition in power for six decades.PHOTO: AFP PUBLISHED Sworn enemies Mahathir and Anwar toppled Najib, but pose new risk to Malaysia MAY 15, 2018, 12:28 PM SGT KUALA LUMPUR (BLOOMBERG) - A courtroom handshake between sworn enemies in September 2016 may have sealed the fate of Malaysia's ousted premier Najib Razak. The rapprochement between Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim led to an alliance between their parties and a shock election win last week, sweeping away a coalition in power for six decades. Dr Mahathir, reinstalled as Prime Minister after a prior stint that lasted 22 years, said before the election he would hand power to Anwar once he was pardoned for a sodomy conviction. But already, there's fresh friction between the two, and Dr Mahathir has been coy when asked when he'd make good on his promise to step aside. "We are following through on our promise to get a pardon for Anwar, but the process and procedure will be followed and there might be slight delays," Dr Mahathir, 92, told reporters on Monday (May 14). … for more, go to https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/sworn-enemies-mahathir-and-anwar-toppled-najib-but-pose-new-risk-to-malaysia |
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