From The Malaysian Insider
By Clara Chooi
By Clara Chooi
IPOH, Nov 15 – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has kept an open mind over Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s suggestion for PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat to lead Pakatan Rakyat Malaysia but reminded the former Umno leader that for now, it was just his personal expression.
The PKR de facto leader took pains to stress in a press conference yesterday that if and when the PR gets registered as a formal coalition, the pro tem committee which Zaid chairs, would have to be surrendered to the leadership council.
Only then would the due process of determining the coalition’s leaders ensue, he added.
“If the (Zaid’s) suggestion is a serious one and follows the due party processes, then of course we will deliberate on it and listen to reasons and arguments.
“But for now however, it is a personal expression,” he said after attending the Perak PKR convention here yesterday evening.
The Opposition leader added that others in the PR leadership council, namely DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, had told him that the matter had not cropped up or been discussed to date.
Anwar also reiterated that all parties in the PR had made the decision to stay silent on the issue of the PR’s registration as a formal coalition.
“We decided that an announcement would only be made once the registration is formalised. The task of the pro tem committee is solely to register the coalition and surrender it over to the leadership council.
“That is why we decided that no announcement should be made, knowing the structure of the Registrar of Societies, under the Umno administration,” he said.
Meanwhile in a ceramah late last night, Anwar came to the defense of the frail but fiery Nik Aziz over allegations of corruption on the latter’s trips to Mecca to perform the haj.
He called on the allegations to stop, saying that there was no man who lived as simply and as humbly as the Kelantan Mentri Besar did.
“Look at him, how he dresses, so simply and humbly.
“Even I could not live like him, in a simple house, with a simple car. Look at my clothes, I still insist on style,” he told a large crowd outside the Perak PKR’s new headquarters in Medan Istana here.
As he spoke, Anwar gestured to his silky blue shirt, causing laughter in the crowd.
“He (Nik Aziz) even decided to cancel his trip to Mecca because of this. I think, this is enough la,” he said.
Nik Aziz had earlier admitted certain individuals had sponsored his haj trips to Mecca, one of which cost some RM65,000.
The elderly PAS leader has since maintained that this was not a form of corruption but decided to cancel his coming trip on Nov 18 anyway.
Anwar lambasted the individuals that chose to pick on such an issue and said that this was an example of the Barisan Nasional’s typical strategy to demonise the Opposition.
On his appointment as the Selangor government’s economic adviser with a token monthly salary of RM1, Anwar said that he was well aware it would be material for more criticism from the BN.
“Bring it on,” he challenged.
He said that on the very day he was appointed, Arab investors had called him up and pledged to look into ways and means to invest in the state.
“Insyallah, this will come true soon,” he said, adding that he had insisted to the Selangor government to only give him the barest necessities for his work as adviser.
“I just need a simple table and chair to do my work. But of course, I would need a better chair for my bad back,” he joked.
He added that his work as the adviser was to help the Selangor government and Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to expedite the state’s development process and focus on investments.
“We want to ensure that the trickle down effect of the state economy will benefit everyone, including small businesses,” he said.
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