OPPOSITION FORMS COALITION- PAKATAN RAKYAT
It's official. It's historical. Opposition forms coalition |
 |
 |
 |
| Tuesday, 01 April 2008 | |
|
(The Malaysian Insider) KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 -- It's been floating around for some time now and Anwar Ibrahim has spoken about it to various media, but today it is official, he announced at a news conference that Malaysia's opposition parties have agreed to enter into a formal coalition. The de facto leader of the opposition, whose wife Dr Wan Azizah will be the formal Leader of the Opposition in parliament, said the move to have a formal coalition is to present the parties as a credible alternative to the present ruling government coalition, Barisan Nasional. This ushers in the era of a two-party system into Malaysian politics for the first time in its history. The name of the new coalition is Pakatan Rakyat. The PKR-PAS-DAP group has proposed strengthening ties by forming Pakatan Rakyat, pending the agreement of the respective parties, said Anwar. He dismissed the long-held position of Parti Islam SeMalaysia, or PAS, on making Malaysia an Islamic state as a non-issue. |
