PKR de facto leader Anwar says BN leaders welcome to join opposition
By Channel NewsAsia Malaysia's correspondent Melissa Goh | Posted: 11 March 2008 2304 hrs

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said his Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is being courted by a party from the east Malaysian state of Sarawak.

Mr Anwar also said PKR, also known as People's Justice Party, is open to government lawmakers who share the same political ideals.

Having successfully led the opposition to win 50 per cent of the seats in West Malaysia as well as four key states, Mr Anwar now has his eyes set on Putrajaya, the government administrative centre.

Speaking of the opposition coalition, he said: "Alternative government or government-in-waiting, I think that's more palatable… We will have to be more cohesive, work together and form a formidable force in next few weeks (or) months."

The opposition coalition won 82 of 222 seats in parliament.

PKR bagged 31 seats while its coalition partners, Democratic Action Party and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, took 28 and 23 seats respectively.

Mr Anwar denied rumours of opposition MPs crossing over to Barison Nasional (BN) in the wake of the ruling coalition's stunning defeat.

Instead, he welcomed BN leaders to join the opposition.

"I can see huge problems in UMNO (and) BN, not only they are denied (the) two-thirds (majority), the component parties are in shamble… Those who share the ideals (of the opposition), (if) they want to discuss, (they) can always discuss (with us)."

The Malaysian stock market took a beating on Monday over fears of the sudden change in the country's political landscape but Mr Anwar sought to calm fears.

To ensure investor confidence during the transition period, Mr Anwar promised that investor-friendly, free market policies will be implemented to stimulate growth and attract foreign investment in the five key states controlled by the opposition coalition.

Existing contracts, he said, will be honoured and all state procurement and contracts will be awarded through open tenders.

While the implementation of race-based affirmative action policies will be reduced at state level, Mr Anwar said Malay preferential treatment rights will always be upheld. - CNA/ac