KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — In choosing to support a leader regardless of one’s political affiliation and racial background, that person must respect the rule of law first and foremost, PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said last night.

In a Facebook live ceramah session, Anwar said the rule of law must be honoured and this was a principle upheld by Pakatan Harapan (PH), as far as the inception of the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat.

"We in Pakatan Harapan since the beginning and even going back to Pakatan Rakyat until the present, have always strived to defend this principle. 

"I do not care what the netizens say, but I want to state that in politics, in governance, these rules of law must be honoured upon. 

"This has been going on constantly which is why we have the Reformasi movement because those in power use their control to discredit those who are not aligned to them while the thieves who support them are cleansed,” he said yesterday.

Anwar said there are two castes of laws for the bourgeoisie and corporates while ordinary citizens continued to be victimised.

He pointed out that he took note of reforms being implemented by the Chief Justice of Malaysia but that required the support of the entire country’s political system.

"That is what we meant by power transition. Not to return to the old strengths, not to bow to the old ways of bribery and cronyism. We see leaders all enriching themselves with their children in tow. How?

"Is it not possible for Malaysians, the Malay Muslims, to come up with a more people-centric system? This is what I meant when I sum up the meaning of what we are trying to achieve in PH,” he said.

Thus, he said he has constantly reminded his comrades in PKR and coalition partners in PH not to sacrifice idealism and their principles for the sake of power.

While not naming names, Anwar also said he was informed of individuals quitting PKR for the sake of idealism, believed to be referring to several PKR defectors aligned to former deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali defecting to Perikatan Nasional (PN).

PN officially became the new government when Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as Malaysia’s eighth prime minister in March, following a week-long political turmoil that saw the fall of the PH government. 

PN is made up of coalitions Barisan Nasional (BN) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, PAS, Parti Bersatu Sabah and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR).