Amanah's defections to PKR a consequence of party leaders' preference for Mahathir

Malaysiakini:

Amanah rep admits to advising Fakhrulrazi to join PKR

Amanah assemblyperson Saari Sungib (above) has admitted to having advised Mohd Fakhrulrazi Mohd Mokhtar to join PKR to solidify support for Anwar Ibrahim as the ninth prime minister.

This came a week after Amanah confirmed that the Meru assemblyperson had left the party to join PKR amid speculations that he had joined PKR in September under the Petaling Jaya division.

Fakhrulrazi, however, remained tight-lipped on joining PKR and insisted that it was Amanah's decision to remove him.

Mohd Fakhrulrazi Mohd Mokhtar

Saari said several weeks ago, Fakhrulrazi had met him to seek advice on whether he should join PKR.

He said he had explained to Fakhrulrazi that the party grassroots and the public see Amanah leadership as leaning its support towards Dr Mahathir Mohamad instead of the PKR president.

For the record, Amanah vice-president Mujahid Yusof Rawa had rubbished claims concerning the support for Anwar and stressed that Fakhrulrazi's defection had nothing to do with speculations on Amanah's declining faith in Anwar.

To revive the grassroots support, Saari said the party has to focus on strengthening its agenda to put Anwar as the next prime minister.

"I believe the effort to put Anwar's image as the prime minister who can bring a meaningful change to the people can become a reality.

"I am confident that this can be achieved with the assistance from component parties within Pakatan Harapan as well as efforts from within PKR itself.

"Hence, I suggested to him (Fakhrulrazi) to join PKR with this objective in mind," he said.

However, Saari said he had reminded Fakhrulrazi (above) to meet Amanah president Mohamad Sabu to relay his intention to join PKR.

When contacted, Fakhrulrazi confirmed that he had met Saari several weeks ago to discuss him quitting Amanah.

Meanwhile, Saari told Malaysiakini that he would issue a statement to further explain his suggestion to Fakhrulrazi.

Sources within Amanah had told Malaysiakini that while the party leadership remained committed to Anwar's leadership, it held its door open to Mahathir.

Mohamad was in the spotlight after he was said to have met Mahathir and Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah last month to discuss a unity government.

Saari, who is Hulu Kelang assemblyperson, is among those in Amanah who was speculated to join PKR but he had dismissed the speculation.

Others in Amanah who were speculated to join PKR were Morib assemblyperson Hasnul Baharuddin and Amanah vice-president Husam Musa. Both had refuted the speculations.

Before Fakhrulrazi, Sabak assemblyperson Ahmad Mustain Othman had left Amanah and joined PKR.

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kt notes:

In the final analysis, t'was Amanah top leadership's proclivity for Mahathir to lead Pakatan into the Old Man's 3rd PM-ship that made Amanah's grassroots restless. Obviously the grassroots must be wondering why its top leaders are so stupid as to support a treacherous old man. Suckers for more treacherous punishment?

As I have often posted, notwithstanding Amanah leaders' current professed preference for Anwar, they had (who knows, maybe still have in their hearts) indicated their support for Mahathir rather than Anwar - especially by Khalid Samad, though I've to say Mat Sabu was a bit nebulous in his preference.

Was that earlier Amanah preference for Mahathir influenced by the DAP top leadership's preference for Mahathir too?

We have been aware that Lim Father & Chye-Chye have both coyly distanced themselves from Anwar, even to the disgraceful mercenary extent of saying the DAP's support for Anwar would be conditional upon Anwar having the "numbers" (to overthrow Muhyiddin). And what kind of support will that be, if not similar to UMNO frogs leaping into Mahathir's hands post May 2018.

Was such a DAP condition (namely, only if Anwar has the "numbers") ever mentioned or even made in those earlier years before Mahathir came on the scene to make the Lims infatuated with him?

I am just disgusted by the DAP top dogs - their taste of 'rule' under Mahathir have "muddled" (I'm being polite here) their adherence to their own party ideology. Wish our late Karpal was still around.

And I wouldn't be surprised if Amanah's earlier preference (demonstrated strongly and several times at that by Khalid Samad) had been influenced by the Lims.

And thus it's little wonder that the grassroots in Amanah, already frustrated by a treacherous old man who abruptly and selfishly abandoned the Pakatan cabinet for his own sinister agenda without so much as a warning to his then Pakatan colleagues, ta'bolih tahan lagi at their dumbo masochistic party leaders, resulting in the recent defection of Mohd Fakhrulrazi and Ahmad Mustain Othman earlier, and perhaps even more soon to come.

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

- Baron Acton