True leaders must have the courage to act in the best interests of the people to ensure the cost of living remains reasonable, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday.
Focusing on the economy and rising cost of living, the opposition leader stressed that a prime minister should do what is best for the public, not pander to “cronies” who benefited from lopsided deals with the government at the expense of the people.
Anwar gets up close and personal at last night’s ceramah in Bangi. — Picture by Yow Hong Chieh
He charged that Datuk Seri Najib Razak let vested interests gouge the people through deals such as power production agreements with independent producers and the MAS-AirAsia share swap as the latter was “afraid” to fight for what was right.
“Do you think I’m like Najib? I went to jail but when they opened the door, I fought. I went to jail and got thrashed but after I fixed my back, I fought. Lawan tetap lawan!” he said to cheers from over 700 supporters at Stadium MPKJ here.
Walking among the crowd with a wireless microphone in hand, the PKR de facto chief also challenged Najib yet again to debate him on policy matters, taunting the Umno president: “Face me if you are a real fighter.”
“A leader must be brave to defend his leadership, not focus on red carpets… Those are just the trappings of power,” he said.
“You are a leader, and so you must be responsible for your policies and answer my questions… This country is rich but the income gap between the wealthy and poor continues to widen.”
Najib has so far declined to debate with the opposition leader.
Anwar said Najib has consistently failed to consider the “suffering” of low-income earners, citing the latter’s volte face on the new government servant pay scheme as an example of his inability to understand the people.
The former deputy prime minister also questioned why Najib had resorted to consultants in coming up with the new pay scheme instead of asking the civil service what it wanted.
“The prime minister doesn’t understand the suffering of the junior officers who serve the government.
“I know suffering, what it means to be insulted and beaten every day. I know,” he said, alluding to his six-year stint in prison following his arrest and conviction for sodomy, which was later overturned by the courts.
Anwar concluded the night with a ditty characterising the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition as “poison” and urging those in the audience to vote for Pakatan Rakyat (PR):
“Madu di tangan kanan mu: Pakatan. Racun di tangan kiri mu: BN. I dah tahu mana satu pilihan ku. (Honey in your right hand: Pakatan. Poison in your left hand: BN. I know what my choice is.)”