SHAH ALAM: PKR youth will take to the streets and mobilise “mass peaceful protest” if Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy conviction is upheld by the courts this October.
“We will surely protest as this has been our practice to hold peaceful demonstration with regard to contradiction in today’s politics of being against oppression and humiliation,” PKR youth chief Shamsul Iskandar told reporters after delivering his keynote address at the 10th PKR Youth Congress on Friday.
He said that the party’s youth wing would mobilise peaceful street protests.
He added the protests would be akin to those when Anwar was charged and convicted for sodomy in 1998.
“I think it’s a recipe to incur the rakyat’s wrath and that is what exactly happened in 1998 and how reformasi started.
“I am confident Barisan Nasional will have a harder time this time,” he said.
Shamsul was asked to comment on his remark during his speech at the youth congress warning Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak that Putrajaya would fall before the next general election.
Anwar, 67, was charged and acquitted by the High Court on Jan 9, 2012 for allegedly sodomising Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, his former aide, at Desa Damansara Condominium in Bukit Damansara on June 26, 2008.
However, the Court of Appeal overturned the acquittal and sentenced Anwar to five years in prison for the offence.
The Federal Court here has set Oct 28 to hear the appeals.
On the issue of women as leaders, Shamsul clarified that he was not singling out PAS when reminding members not to prejudice or doubt their fellow Pakatan allies over issues of gender, age and race.
He also said that there were those within Pakatan who were willing to sacrifice the opposition pact with “insane thoughts” that women could not be leaders.
“The issue of women leaders seems to be a taboo amongst Malays and Muslims.
“A lot of talk appeared on Facebook, twitters and alternative media on the issue,” he said.
He said he merely was reminding members that a leader is chosen not based on gender but on competency and ability.
On the Selangor MB crisis, he blamed the lack of proper consultation mechanism amongst top Pakatan leaders as the cause of the problem.
“Any differences of opinions and disputes has to be solved through discussions and spirit kingship based on democratic principles.
“In the Pakatan context, it means that Pakatan leaders must sit together, discuss and come to a decision,” he said.
He added that meetings represented by only those who could make party decision.
Shamsul, who is set to be announced as PKR vice-president on Saturday, said he would propose to the Pakatan leadership that a PKR youth candidate is picked for the coming Pengkalan Kubor by-election in Kelantan.
– THE STAR
