DAP will back Anwar all the way to Parliament

DAP will back opposition stalwart Anwar Ibrahim all the way to Parliament, declared party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng today.

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He said it was imperative for the de facto PKR leader to win a projected by-election for the Kulim-Bandar Baru parliamentary seat "because the country and Parliament needs him."

"DAP will fully support Anwar's campaign to win the imminent by-election and earn his rightful place in the August House.

"Anwar's win is crucial for the future development of the Malaysian political and democratic system," said Lim, who is also Penang chief minister, during a press conference.

He and other DAP leaders were committed to campaign vigorously to ensure victory for the former deputy premier.

Anwar will not face any difficulty in getting backing from Lim and other DAP leaders as the Kulim-Bandar Baru parliamentary constituency in southern Kedah borders the DAP ruled Penang.

Moreover, being a Penang-born political leader, the Pakatan Rakyat premier-in-waiting would not be short of 'home' support in his duel to win the seat and re-enter Parliament to conclude a full 10-year cycle of political hiatus.

According to Lim, national politics badly needs Anwar back as a parliamentarian to take the nation to another height.

He said the country needs to move forward from the outdated racial-based BN politics to Malaysian-based multi-racial politics.

'Time to take care of everyone'

Lim said Anwar was the right political personality to lead the charge to change the political landscape to a higher level of parliamentary democracy.

He said Pakatan Rakyat does not believe in BN’s racial politics emphasising an old agenda of "a Malay leader taking care of a Malay, a Chinese leader taking care of a Chinese and an Indian leader taking care of an Indian."

"Time has arrived for everyone to take care of everyone, regardless of race, religion and colour," he said.

At a rally in the Malay-dominated industrial town of Kulim on Sunday, Anwar announced his intention to contest in the by-election if the Alor Star High Court decision on Aug 19 declared the seat vacant.

The 61-year-old firebrand opposition leader had chosen Kulim-Bandar Baru to earn his right to be a parliamentarian "because it is located close to his Penang hometown Cheruk Tokun."

PKR's Zulkifli Nordin won the 51,995-registered voters seat in the recent general election by a margin of 5,583 against BN's Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir.

Kulim-Bandar Baru is a majority Malay seat, of which 69.5 percent are Malays, 18.6 percent Chinese and 11.7 percent Indians.

On another matter, Lim also took a swipe at Perak Umno liaison chief Mohd Tajol Rosli Ghazali over the offer to PAS to form a governing pact with Umno in the state.

The DAP leader described this as a "another example of BN dinosaur politics out to grab power."

Perak Menteri Besar Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin from PAS has dismissed Tajol's offer and pledged his party would stay in the present Pakatan state government.

In the current Perak state assembly, DAP has 18 seats, PKR seven and PAS six, while Umno remains the largest single party with 27 and MCA has a solitary elected representative.