Jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim reminded PKR leaders working with Dr Mahathir Mohamad not to deviate from their original cause, which is to fight for the people.
Commenting on his letter, which caused a stir, he explained that the issue of working with the former premier on the Citizens' Declaration was not an issue, but Mahathir should not be allowed to dictate the matter.
"Make sure that he (Mahathir) does not dictate. Issues like cronyism, corruption and tyranny have to be addressed," he said this morning.
"Make sure that the people's issues, which are the main issues, are not deviated," he told reporters after the case management of his review case at the office of the Federal Court registrar this morning.
This is the first time Anwar, who is serving a five-year jail term for Sodomy II, has publicly confirmed penning the eight-page letter.
Anwar said he had instructed three senior PKR leaders to negotiate the issue, namely deputy president Azmin Ali and vice-presidents Tian Chua and Rafizi Ramli.
The former opposition leader also confirmed the letter was authentic and that he had written it while in court.
"I thank Malaysiakini for translating it, but it should be read in its original context, where initially it is in Malay and in the middle in English, and the conclusion is written in Malay.
"It is initially directed for the party leaders but since it is out, I hope all the people read it," he said.
Million signatures
The letter came about following the disclosure that Mahathir's Citizens' Declaration had received a million signatures over calls to remove Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Initially, there were some doubts concerning the authenticity of the letter which was initially posted on Facebook, with PKR vice-president Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin denying its authenticity, arguing that Anwar remained supportive of the declaration and its objectives.
However, PKR vice-president and secretary-general Rafizi Ramli confirmed its authenticity.
Rafizi also described Anwar's letter as a timely reminder not to be too carried away by the Citizens' Declaration.
“It puts back the original context and framework within which any further collaboration should be pursued. More importantly, it reminds party leaders there is no shortcut in defeating BN and not to go astray from the reform agenda.
“Now that the message is public, I am sure party leaders from grassroots to national leaders will reflect and re-adjust our focus,” he had told Malaysiakini.
Rafizi also said former minister in the Prime Minister's Department Zaid Ibrahim, had approached several PKR leaders, and the issue was discussed by the party where it was agreed in principle as long as the issues raised by Mahathir were in agreement or echoed PKR and Pakatan Harapan's stands, there was no problem to agree on common issues.
However, the Pandan MP rued that subsequent events did not stick to the agreement and eventually the whole focus of the Citizens' Declaration seemed to revolve around the removal of the prime minister.
“Lately, there even were remarks that the Citizens' Declaration was to remove Najib but maintain the BN government,” he said.
Since the objective of obtaining a million signatures had been achieved, Rafizi said it would be best for PKR and Pakatan Harapan return to address the key basic issues affecting the people.
