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(NST) AMID the haranguing of Barisan Nasional and the disappointment of still being in the federal opposition, a sentiment ran through the Parti Keadilan Rakyat congress this year that was expressed by only a handful of members and leaders.
The sentiment was probably lost on many of the more than 1,800 delegates, but it was repeated again and again by the party's veteran leaders. It was that the party had come a long way since 1998, the year Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, now its de facto leader, was thrown out of the cabinet and eventually imprisoned. It was not just a feeling of nostalgia for how Anwar's incarceration led to street protests, the founding of the PKR, which in March this year won 31 seats in Parliament and formed the Selangor government with Pas and the DAP. It was a realisation that even with all the hurdles the PKR has faced since the heady days of 1998, the road to power in Putrajaya is still a long and arduous one. The party had tried to take a shortcut on that journey by pinning its hopes on Anwar's Sept 16 plan of seizing power from the BN through the defection of 30 of the latter's MPs. The date went by with not a single BN MP announcing a switch to the Pakatan Rakyat, the coalition of opposition parties made up of Pas, DAP and PKR. This disappointed many PKR members who had joined the party after March 8 with expectations that they were on the express lane to the Federal Government, and they came to the congress to seek an explanation from the man they had hung their hopes on. Anwar fell back on his already stated reasons and pleaded for patience. He described how the process of persuading crossovers was complicated, that the BN did not want to negotiate handing over power and though Sept 16 failed, the effort was still ongoing. It was only a slightly different Anwar from the one who had, with supreme confidence, beguiled and tantalised his supporters and many in the local and international media that he was on the cusp of becoming prime minister. A delegate from the Tawau division in Sabah said he was satisfied with Anwar's explanation. "I personally do not think it would be wise for Anwar or the party to keep talking about Sept 16. If there still is some effort behind the scenes then let it continue surreptitiously. "The other risk is that we would be accused of only talk and no action." The emphasis on clear and concrete action instead of lofty boasts was underlined in many speeches by leaders such as Angkatan Muda Keadilan chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, supreme council member Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, vice-president Azmin Ali and deputy president Dr Syed Hussin Ali. Collectively, these leaders spent most of their stage time drumming into delegates the importance of getting to work and most crucially, to put their Sept 16 expectations behind them. Malacca delegate Ginie Lim Siew Lin felt that the leaders' message was meant for many of the party's members who had joined them in droves following the general election. "For leaders and members who have been around since 1998, the failure of Sept 16 is a small bump on the road given what they have gone through. "So the message is that we still have a long way to go and much to do and that the road ahead will not be easy. But that is what the struggle is about." Perhaps no one personifies the hardships of the party's struggle more than the party's grand dame, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who in her winding-up speech made sure the delegates knew that there would be no shortcuts to victory. "Yes Sept 16 did not happen but we must get up and work. We are now MPs, state assemblymen, executive councillors and menteri besar. So, don't just spend time criticising Umno. "In the 2004 elections, the media almost wrote the party's obituary. They told me I lost, but I won when there was a recount. So I am telling you all now, do not give up."
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