Don’t write off Anwar just yet

 

Everyone is talking as though Ismail Sabri Yaakob is the new prime minister. In politics, nothing is certain, just as there are no permanent enemies.

I have been reading reports of political leaders and even economists advising Ismail on what he should do if he becomes the next prime minister. No one is giving such advice to Anwar in the media.

I suppose this is based on reports that Ismail has secured the vote of 114 of the 220 MPs in Parliament (There are 222 seats in Parliament, but currently two are vacant). The reports themselves are based on what the leaders of the political parties that made up or supported the previous Perikatan Nasional government said.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah met leaders of Pakatan Harapan, Pejuang, PAS, Umno, Warisan and Gabungan Parti Sarawak – physically or virtually – simultaneously on Aug 17, a day after prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin submitted the resignation of his Cabinet.

The King then told MPs to send him the name of one person whom they wanted to nominate for the post of prime minister. After everyone had done so, yesterday, he interviewed about 114 of them – all of whom are said to be supporting Ismail.

The King wanted to know if they had signed the statutory declaration voluntarily.

According to Umno’s Jempol MP Salim Shariff, each of them spent about a minute with the King. “We were asked to introduce ourselves, which parliamentary constituency we represented, and which candidate we were supporting. The sessions were conducted one by one with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” he told Berita Harian.

The King had earlier said whoever His Majesty picks to be the new prime minister must prove his majority in Parliament. In a statement, Istana Negara said: “His Majesty decreed that the prime minister he appoints according to the constitution has to table a motion of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat.”

The King also called on all parties to work together and avoid a winner-take-all situation.

It is not impossible that a few of the MPs who had had an audience with the King would have given him a name different from that in their SD. If you are a party member, you have to follow the instructions of the leadership even if you don’t agree with the choice of the person being nominated. The party whip or president or secretary would be watching to see who you nominate.

But face to face with the King, you can voice your real choice, provided you are prepared to meet the consequences of it once it becomes known when a vote is taken in Parliament.

Also, I’m puzzled over a remark by GPS chairman Abang Johari Openg. When asked by reporters who was the coalition’s choice, he simply said: “I leave it to the wisdom of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”

So, although it appears that Ismail has the most number of MPs supporting him, we should not rule out Anwar Ibrahim entirely. Anwar, after all, is said to have 105 MPs backing him. If enough MPs who are independents or with PN-related parties back him to give him the very simple majority of 112, Anwar may still have a chance.

And even if he does not make it this time, the general election is less than two years away.

Article 43 (2) (a) of the constitution states that the Agong shall appoint as prime minister “a member of the House of Representatives who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House”.

We have seen that our King is a man of the people. If he is travelling and sees an accident, he stops to enquire or help. In January, Sultan Abdullah and his family braved a waterlogged East Coast Highway to bring aid to people affected by floods in Pahang. And he sends greetings on the occasion of the new year of every community in the nation.

He is well aware of the political situation and has shown that he has his pulse on the feelings of the people. He is not averse to reprimanding his own government and prime minister if he feels the situation is not right, as happened when Muhyiddin kept putting off the sitting of Parliament.

He is also a careful person who likes to seek the views of his fellow Malay Rulers on important issues. The Rulers are, in fact, scheduled to meet today on the choice of prime minister.

We will have to trust the Malay Rulers to make a wise decision. They know that the nation needs a competent prime minister who can galvanise the people to work in tandem with his Cabinet to drastically reduce Covid-19 cases and revive the economy.

Whoever is appointed needs the support of all Malaysians to tackle the pandemic and help save lives and livelihoods. It’s especially important for politicians to drop their egos and hurts and work together with the new prime minister and his team. - FMT 

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.