[UPDATED] Melaka loss: Anwar accepts responsibility

BANGI – Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has accepted responsibility for Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) defeat in the recently concluded Melaka election.

“Yes, as the leader of the coalition, I carry the burden of PH’s loss and the decision to accept two (former) Umno assemblymen,” he said at an event here today.

Moreover, he said he will listen to criticism of his leadership during the election as well as calls for him to step down.

However, he said, the calls to quit are opinions that should not be clouded in arrogance.

Anwar is Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman and PKR president.

He was referring to, among others, Pahang DAP secretary Lee Chin Chen and Sabah DAP secretary Phoong Jin Zhe, both of whom had called for a leadership change in PH.

“It is just an opinion, but as I said before, in giving such views, we should not be seen as arrogant,” Anwar said, adding that one needs to look at the facts before coming to any conclusion.

He explained that Melaka PH had proposed that the central leadership accept former Melaka chief minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron and his fellow ex-Umno assemblyman Datuk Nor Azman Hassan after they were fired from the party for withdrawing support for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali.

“It (Melaka PH) was confident that it could help (us) win the election,” Anwar said, adding that despite reservations, the leadership was convinced this was the strategy to adopt.

“But I cannot shirk my responsibility,” he said, adding that an independent committee will be formed to conduct a post-mortem, to complement one that will be conducted by the coalition’s state chapter.

In the election on November 20, PH won only five seats in the 28-seat assembly. All five were clinched by DAP candidates. – The Vibes, November 23, 2021