At the ‘thanksgiving’ rally last night, 1 April 2008 organised by PAS, Hadi Awang had spelled out some of the key agenda of Pakatan Rakyat of the People’s Alliance which is a loose coalition of PKR, DAP and PAS which will be led by PKR or its de facto leader, Anwar Ibrahim. The Pakatan Rakyat omitted PAS’s Islamic state platform.
Among the agendas unveiled were:
· To amend or abolish all unjust and discriminatory laws, especially the Internal Security Act which allows detention without trial, Universities and University Colleges Act which restricts academic freedom, and the Official Secrets Act which makes allegedly the government opaque;
· To implement immediate electoral reforms, in particular relating to the task and operations of the Election Commission;
· To ensure that the Anti-Corruption Agency be truly independent so that it can be effective in fighting graft and to stop any selective prosecution;
· To restore public faith in the judiciary and to ensure that it is truly independent
Moving away from its 2004 election folly of trumping a hudud state which advocated chopping off the limbs of petty thieves that ultimately led to DAP breaking away from the BArisan Alternative as DAP did not believe in abiding by PAS’s hudud state concept, PAS appears to tow a more moderate perspective, probably feeding into the persuasions of its non-Muslim supporters.
Anyhow, all is left to be seen. Voters today are an educated and knowledgeable lot. As voters had high expectations from BN, the electorate also holds high expectations from the People’s Alliance.
The agendas spelt out by the People’s Alliance call for greater openness, independence of the judiciary and transparency. These are delicate matters and not simple to bring about change just overnight as there may even be resistance from within.
Only time can tell if the Opposition will be able to deliver on their lofty promises to the rakyat, and we urge the Opposition to live up to their words.
- MCA online -