Anwar seeks ‘national consensus’ to reject BN rule
BY CLARA CHOOI
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 ― Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim vowed today to amass support from Malaysians indignant at last night’s polls results and move for “national consensus” to question the legitimacy of the newly-elected Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
He reiterated claims that the “worst electoral fraud in history” kept BN in federal power and issued a stern reminder to his foes that the push for change is “unstoppable”. Anwar also insisted the demand for clean and fair elections would persist beyond Election 2013. “Our conscience cannot allow us to accept election results conjured through frauds and cheating,” he said in a statement here.
“My heart is with every Malaysian who does not accept the results. I will work towards a national consensus to question the legitimacy of the BN’s government achieved through such electoral frauds,” he added.
Anwar also vowed to devote all his time and energy to work with polls reform group Bersih to remove the current crop of leaders in the Election Commission (EC), saying they should be held responsible to all proven acts of electoral fraud.
“The fact that Pakatan Rakyat won the popular votes by a large margin (50.3 per cent, compared to BN’s 46.8 per cent) confirms the mandate given to us and highlights that electoral frauds won the 13th General Election for Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak,” he said.
Anwar’s Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact lost its bid for Putrajaya in a hard-fought election last night, picking up 89 seats to the 133 secured by Barisan Nasional (BN), despite increasing its seat numbers in Parliament and many state legislative assemblies.
As the results streamed in, the senior politician, who has vowed to stay out of the forefront of politics after this, said he would not accept the polls outcome due to widespread reports of vote-rigging and electoral discrepancies.
In a press conference late last night, Anwar noted claims that several hotly-contested seats were marred by allegations of widespread fraud.
“As of now we are not accepting the results,” the visibly upset Anwar told the press conference packed with supporters, local and international pressmen.
“Many of the seats they have announced we are contesting (the results) and they have not responded to our allegations,” he said.
The opposition leader added that PR would only accept yesterday’s results if the EC gives a satisfactory explanation to the complaints.
“They were complicit to the crime,” he said.
Anwar added today that a mass gathering will be held at the Kelana Jaya Stadium this Wednesday where he will address Malaysians for the first time after the polls.
“I call upon as many Malaysians to join hands and express our rejection and disgust at the unprecedented electoral frauds committed by Najib and the EC,” he said.
