By Shannon Teoh

July 05, 2010

Pakatan Rakyat leaders attend the launch of FoPR in London yesterday, July 4, 2010. — Picture by Danny Lim

LONDON, July 5 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders continued their bullish stance towards a possible snap election by insisting that they would win big, when launching an outreach programme here yesterday.

Despite losing five MPs this year, they further taunted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak by stating that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition was running scared.

“Umno is in a state of panic. They see enemies everywhere,” PR secretariat chief Datuk Zaid Ibrahim told a crowd of over 200 at the launch of Friends of Pakatan Rakyat (FoPR) in London.

Other leaders at the FoPR launch, such as PAS treasurer Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli, DAP’s Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, were also confident of expanding their historic wins in Election 2008 into the next general election, which must be held by 2013.

Their upbeat mood followed Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement last week that PR would be ready should BN opt to dissolve Parliament early.

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Wednesday, 30 June 2010

We are also meeting with UK Members of Parliment and the UK Bar Council amongst others so it will be great to learn first hand about the way British elections, parliment and government are run and hopefully gain some fresh insights and alternative paradigms for changing the Malaysian mindset and political landscape.

Malaysia Today

1. You’re travelling to London along with Dato Zaid and a number of high profile opposition leaders to launchFriends of Pakatan Rakyat. What are your thoughts on this recent initiative and what do you hope to achieve whilst you’re there?

I believe the launch of Friends of Pakatan Rakyat in London represents something fresh and exciting in terms of opening up the space for political dialogue and pushing for positive reform and change in Malaysia. And it’s really amazing to see so many Malaysians at home and abroad hungry for positive change. Twelve years ago, at the start of the Reformasi movement, something like this would have been unthinkable, in the same way that the Election Tsunami of 2008 represented a huge milestone in the history of Malaysian politics.

Whilst in London I am really looking forward to meeting all the people who have supported and encouraged us so far and to be able to relay to them in person the positive changes that Pakatan Rakyat has initiated and implemented in these last 2 years, but also the considerable challenges we face.

I know also that there are many Malaysian living in the UK who are committed to contributing their knowledge and expertise in a number of areas – healthcare, education, law, the non-government sector, business and finance. This visit will be a great opportunity to explore new ways of tapping into that huge resource pool and working together for a better Malaysia. We will also champion the rights of overseas Malaysians to vote in the upcoming General Elections as the main thrust in the second phase of the Movement for Free & Fair Elections (BERSIH).

We are also meeting with UK Members of Parliment and the UK Bar Council amongst others so it will be great to learn first hand about the way British elections, parliment and government are run and hopefully gain some fresh insights and alternative paradigms for changing the Malaysian mindset and political landscape.

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Everyone is invited.

“Bukan UMNO/BN nak TDM balik, tapi dia nak masuk dan takde siapa berani halang dia…” Zaid Ibrahim