ISU ZAID BERCUTI

Isu cuti 6 bulan Datuk Zaid Ibrahim yang baru-baru ini diwar-war oleh media perdana, sebenarnya telah dijelaskan oleh beliau melalui sepucuk surat kepada Setiausaha Akhbar PKR. Dalam surat tersebut beliau telah menyatakan bahawa beliau tidak akan hadir mesyuarat Biro Politik dan MPP kerana keazaman beliau untuk memberi tumpuan yang lebih mendalam kepada kerja-kerja memperkukuhkan Pakatan Rakyat, termasuk penggubalan dasar-dasar bersama 3 parti untuk pendaftaran Pakatan, dan di samping itu, mengambil kesempatan untuk melawat negeri-negeri, daerah-daerah, kampung-kampung dan sebagainya. Lawatan ini bertujuan untuk mendengar pendapat rakyat jelata.

Surat Datuk Zaid adalah seperti berikut:

"Effective today, I will be taking six months leave from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). This means that I will not be attending the political bureau meetings of the party. A letter to that effect has been submitted to the secretary-general of the party.

I joined PKR because of my interest to try and put together a common policy platform for Pakatan Rakyat. This common policy framework for the coalition of the three parties, PKR, DAP and PAS respectively, are now in the final stages and I expect to submit the policy framework to the leadership of the respective parties next week.

That being said, a lot more work has to be done in understanding the concerns of the members and the rakyat. A lot more work still needs to be done to provide a cohesive foundation for the coalition and this involves meeting various leaders and members of the respective parties.

With the Pakatan Rakyat Convention due to take place in December 2009, I need time to finalise the policy framework which hopefully will be approved by the leadership of the respective parties. Lately, there have been reports of the political frictions of the PKR leadership with regards to Sabah and Sarawak and that I was in some way involved. I wish to reiterate that I am not at all involved in the leadership issue of PKR Sabah and Sarawak.

I have been invited to attend Hari Raya functions and gatherings by PKR leaders to meet the members, which I have accepted. Similarly, I have also been invited to meet some leaders of Sarawak in Kuching. I see no sinister motive in these invitations. I have no interest in the internal politics of PKR, nor of any of the other parties in Pakatan Rakyat. Neither do I aspire to assume a leadership role in PKR. I made this very clear to Anwar Ibrahim when I joined the party.

I only want to be a facilitator to bring about the realisation of a strong, credible and united opposition — an opposition with a strong leadership, sound common policies and structures to be a meaningful alternative to Barsian Nasional. Only a strong united opposition can restore democracy in this country and can provide good policies to the people.

We must move beyond the BN bashing and sloganeering stage. Only clearly defined policies and a united leadership of Pakatan Rakyat can convince Malaysians that we are a suitable choice for the rakyat. I hope that from my meetings, dialogues and discussions with the members of the three parties at all levels, the dream of a united opposition can be realised."