In a letter to party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the Federal Territories PKR chief said it has officially rejected the Citizens’ Declaration led by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, The Star reported.
“The Kuala Lumpur PKR leadership council had agreed on this decision. As chairman, I presented the letter stating that we fully support Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah for whatever decision and action she has been taking all this while,” PKR FT chief Dr Idris Ahmad told The Star yesterday.
“We rejected the Citizens’ Declaration because it doesn’t present the spirit of Keadilan and why PKR was formed. What we want is to have a justice system for the people and at the same time to call for the release of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“In the Citizens’ Declaration, nothing has been mentioned about the original spirit of the party. So as reformists, and as most of the committee members are original reformasi movement members, naturally it (the declaration) is not in the spirit of reformasi. So that’s why we reject the Citizens’ Declaration,” he said, according to the English daily.
The Ijok assemblyman added that there was some disappointment at the grassroots level in the PKR on the actions of some PKR leaders in aligning themselves with Mahathir.
“Tun M has been criticising Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim right to the very end, and do you want to sit at the same table with the person who criticises your own leader? To me, it is against our principles, especially my principles. We cannot compromise in this matter,” Idris was quoted as saying by The Star.
The most senior PKR leaders who signed the Citizens’ Declaration are its deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, who is also Selangor Menteri Besar, and vice-president Rafizi Ramli.
According to The Star, Idris did not want to specify any one leader, but he added that his criticism can also be targeted at everyone from the opposition and pro-opposition NGOs who sat with Mahathir at the Citizens’ Declaration on March 4.
Anwar had also turned his back on the Citizens’ Declaration in a letter which came to light on May 16, with a message to PKR leaders, urging them to be wary of Mahathir and the participation of various leaders from both sides of the political divide in the Citizens’ Declaration.
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