‘Disaster if Anwar is PM’ - The Star

By Jane Ritikos and Lisa Goh

PETALING JAYA: If Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim becomes Prime Minister, it will be an “unmitigated disaster” for Malaysia, a former Parti Keadilan Nasional (before they joined forces with Parti Rakyat Malaysia to become PKR) deputy-president said at a forum yesterday.

Dr Chandra Muzaffar said that while the former deputy prime minister was a good speaker, he was not the sort of leader the country needed as he was now singing a different tune from when he was in the Government.

Dr Chandra, who was the party's deputy-president for two-and-a-half years, said it was sad that many non-Malays in the country were taken in by Anwar’s multi-ethnic stand.

“Today, he is portraying a totally different image and it is sad that quite a lot of non-Malays believe in this man. He is saying today that he wants to abolish the NEP (New Economic Policy) and that is music to their ears.

“We are so communal that we cannot evaluate a person objectively,” said Dr Chandra, who was one of five speakers at The Star-Asian Centre for Media Studies Public Forum on the 2008 Malaysian General Election at Menara Star yesterday.

Dr Chandra recalled that when Anwar was Education Minister, he had compelled schools to switch from using (the term) Bahasa Malaysia to Bahasa Melayu.

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/4/nation/20528294&sec=nation]