Rumblings in the opposite aisle

 

Plan backfired: Can Anwar rise against the latest political hurdle?

In an ironic plot twist, Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is now facing a no-confidence challenge after Budget 2021 was successfully passed in Parliament.

“WHO else can be Opposition leader? You tell me, ” an opposition MP asked when we were discussing PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership of the Opposition bloc.

It was a day after the Opposition lost its bid to defeat Budget 2021. The Bill was passed when 111 Perikatan Nasional government MPs voted for it, 108 Opposition MPs against it, and one MP abstained.

The irony of the Budget 2021 vote is that instead of it being a de facto confidence motion for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, it has turned into a no-confidence test for Anwar.

If Anwar had not declare in September that he had “a strong, formidable and convincing majority” to bring down Muhyiddin and form a government, his leadership of the fractious Opposition probably would not have been questioned.

The 108 votes – some from MPs who do not want Anwar to become Prime Minister – showed that Anwar doesn’t have the numbers.

“Mahathir?” the MP answered his own question, referring to former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is leading the not-yet-registered Pejuang with four MPs. “He doesn’t have much support among the opposition MPs.”

“Shafie?” he said, referring to Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.

“Does Shafie have enough support to become Opposition leader? Warisan only has eight MPs. Can he get support from Anwar who has 38 MPs? They have been bitter rivals since their Umno days.”

“Who do you think could be the Opposition leader?” I asked him.

“Gobind, ” the MP said, referring to the DAP deputy chairman Gobind Singh.

“He has respect among the Opposition MPs. He would have organised us to be an effective Opposition bloc by forming a shadow Cabinet. He won’t chase lofty dreams of becoming PM at our expense.

“Or Saifuddin. He has command of his peers, ” he added, referring to PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution.

There are rumblings against Anwar as Opposition leader among his Pakatan Harapan allies – DAP and Amanah – and among his frenemies, Pejuang and Warisan. Some of them want him replaced.

Political analyst Dr Abdul Latiff Mohd Ibrahim noted that the reason for the rumblings is mostly that the Port Dickson MP has yet to achieve anything tangible in terms of delivering the Pakatan coalition back to the government. Perhaps, he said, because Anwar has not succeeded despite many attempts to unseat the Muhyiddin government – naturally, voices of discontent would grow.

Political scientist Prof Wong Chin Huat contended that Anwar has committed two “political crimes”. First is his failure to deliver a

countercoup despite his repeated promise of “numbers”. Second is his inability to form a shadow Cabinet and formulate alternative policies, including a shadow budget.

Prof Wong said, except for Upko president Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau, who called on Anwar to form a shadow Cabinet, Anwar’s critics are seemingly angry with him only because he failed to deliver the promised defection of Umno backbenchers.

“Anwar deserves to be dressed down for making unfulfilled promises but what about Anwar’s more substantive failure in forming a shadow Cabinet? Don’t all Pakatan party leaders owe Malaysians an apology too?” he said.

Ooi Kok Hin, who is a Monbukagakusho scholar at Waseda University, pointed out that DAP and Amanah came close to an open rebellion. “But they have to be careful not to bruise PKR too much in their attempt to change the leadership, ” he said.

“After all, what’s stopping PKR from pulling the same stunt of ‘withholding support’ as Warisan and the independents? If they do that, Shafie’s number would be less than 92 MPs.

“And it would be irresponsible for any political coalition to nominate Mahathir to be a PM candidate again knowing his age and how his departure would recreate the same chaos again, ” he said.

Going back to the MP’s question of who else could be an Opposition leader, I asked the three academics their opinion. I also asked them what is the criteria for an MP to lead the Opposition.

Prof Wong said more important than “who” is “what”.

“What will our Parliamentary Opposition leader do in 2021? Will he or she be able to form a shadow Cabinet? If not, what difference if a new Opposition chief merely stops talking about numbers?” he said.

Prof Wong said Pakatan Plus (the informal Opposition bloc comprising Pakatan Harapan, Pejuang and Warisan) must carefully manage the leadership competition emerging between Anwar and Shafie: “If this turns out to be a new episode of the age-old Mahathir-Anwar antagonism, Pakatan Plus would be punished ruthlessly by its frustrated base, ” he said.

The political scientist suggested that instead of attacking each other, the PKR president and Warisan president Shafie should compete to form a shadow Cabinet. This is the common exercise of coalition-building in countries with a hung Parliament, he said.

“While most senior Pakatan Plus MPs are expected to be courted by both, the differences in their lineups may determine how many MPs support Anwar, and Shafie can win. The better team-builder between them should then be the Opposition leader and the other can take up the job of deputy or some senior advisory position, ” he said.

Ooi argued that it is not about the identity of the Opposition leader but what his or her priorities are: “One of the first steps the Opposition leader can take to empower his or her coalition is to create a shadow Cabinet. PKR has done that at the party level, what’s stopping Pakatan?” he said.

“More MPs should emulate Dr Dzul who is one of the few Opposition MPs still popular with the public. He has been a productive de facto shadow Health Minister, scrutinising every announcement by the government, on issues that the public worry about, ” he said, referring to Amanah’s Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, the former Health Minister.

As for his candidate, Dr Abdul Latiff prefers someone from the younger set of MPs.

When the MP asked me who should be Opposition leader, I thought of our young and dynamic Opposition MPs and how politicians who have been in power since the 1990s are treating the country as if it is their personal political battleground. Then I thought, “Malaysia is no country for old men”. by :Philip Golingai - Star