KAMARAZAMAN Yaakob said his younger brother, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, had no influence in him forming a new political party, Parti Kuasa Rakyat (Kuasa).

Dismissing the notion, the former University Malaya (UM) student leader said his political views were very different from those of Ismail’s.

A staunch socialist in his younger days Kamarazaman, who was well known for his involvement in many anti-establishment movements, said Ismail and him shared one common ground – that they knew how it was to be raised in a poor family.

“My political thoughts and my views on many things are very much different from the prime minister (Ismail).

“I was not influenced by him to form this party. But we knew one thing, how it was to come from a poor family. Our family were rubber tappers. My decision today did not come from him,” he stressed.

Kamarazaman was close to Anwar Ibrahim, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Hishamuddin Rais and Yunus Ali when they were students in UM.

At one point Zahid, who is now Umno president, was Kamarazaman’s roommate.

Kamarazaman was detained together with Anwar in 1974 while both Hishamuddin and Yunus managed to escape arrest and sought refuge overseas.

During his speech this afternoon at the party’s launch, Kamarazaman stressed that Kuasa would seek to abolish the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) and replace it with scholarships for the B40 and M40 communities.

In a Fidel Castro-esque speech, Kamarazaman promised that the new party would give autonomy to its Sabah and Sarawak members.

“They will not only be given the freedom to decide on their leadership at the state level but also their representatives at the central level to fill quotas, which include the deputy and vice-president posts,” he said.

Other than wanting to abolish PTPTN, Kamarazaman said he was seeking free health care and housing for the poor while imposing higher taxes on the rich. – October 10, 2021.