SHAH ALAM, 5 May: The State Government, administered by Pakatan Rakyat (PR), should continue to uphold the spirit of reform, which is the identity of PR, to attract support from the majority of Malaysians.
The Assemblyman for Seri Setia, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, said that after a year since the 13th General Election (GE13), PR cannot become a version of a Barisan Nasional (BN) state.
He said that PR states have to be a totally different model compared to what is highlighted by BN.
“We must continue to focus regarding the economic gap, which will become increasingly wide with the introduction of the GST and the withdrawal of subsidies for the people.
“Economic mismanagement, cronyism and rampant corruption, the rising crime rate and the violation of human rights.
“This includes continued pressure on the PR leadership; an example being the case of Datuk Anwar Ibrahim. At the same time, we must be sensitive in dealing with Malaysians, who are from a plural and complex society,” he said in a press statement today.
Nik Nazmi said that if PR does not realise this, either at the PR level or the State Government level, the coalition will lose support from the people.
“We cannot take their support for granted. That is what happened to UMNO and BN; in fact they have already been punished by the people.
“A year has passed since the historic GE13. In spite of obstacles and pressures faced by PR, we received almost 51 percent of the popular vote.
“However, due to unfair delimitation, PR only received 40 percent of seats in Parliament,” he said.
In relation to that, Nik Nazmi said that the struggle for change in Malaysia should be continued and PR should learn from history that strength appeared when PKR, PAS and DAP decided to cooperate with each other and be in the middle ground of politics.
“The people, especially the young people, supported PR in the last GE, placing their hopes on our shoulders,” he said.
