PETALING JAYA, 29 Apr: The Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, expressed happiness with the statement issued by the U.S. President, Barack Obama, who did not ignore his situation, despite not meeting during his visit last week.
He said that Obama expressed concern in a face-to-face meeting held, through his representative, the U.S. Security Advisor, Susan Rice, to convey his views to be presented to Obama.
“Although meeting me or otherwise is a little bit controversial, when he personally mentioned ‘the fact that I haven’t met with Mr. Anwar in and of itself isn’t indicative of our lack of concern’. I think that alone conveys an important message.
“When I, Lim Guan Eng and Mustafa Ali met with Susan Rice ‘one-to-one’, she clearly said that the President wants to convince me that he supports this meeting to receive my opinion and will evaluate the content of this meeting.
“And it is very clear, and I think that she will convey the contents of the meeting to the President on issues of justice, issues raised such as elections, state coalitions that are not treated with equality and several other issues,” he said in a press conference today.
In a statement yesterday, Anwar said that the meeting was intended to gather input regarding strategies to enhance bilateral relations between Malaysia and the U.S., and recommended a transparent conversation regarding negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).
At the same time, the Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, also spoke regarding the integrity of elections in Malaysia, while the PAS Secretary-General, Datuk Mustafa Ali, stressed the difficulty when the Federal Government is seen to be affecting a number of State Governments administered by the opposition.
“President Obama’s visit was much welcomed by Malaysians and clearly gave a boost to the government led by Najib. I think they have failed to do that.
“That is why Obama and his aide have met with many parties and directly listened to the anger and frustration, as well as concern on the issue of oppression, racial discrimination or inequality in religion,” he said.
