Anwar: Bersatu in government and opposition a ‘new normal’

PKR president Anwar Ibrahim today said having Bersatu elected representatives sitting on both the government and opposition benches would be the "new normal" in Parliament.

Responding to his followers on Facebook, Anwar in a live session said this was after former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's recent announcement that he would be sitting on the opposition bench during the May 18 Dewan Rakyat session.

"This is a new normal. We have the prime minister from Bersatu, and then we have Mahathir who is not with Pakatan Harapan but on the opposition bench, also from Bersatu.

"So now they are berdua (split)," he quipped, referring to the faction aligned with Muhyiddin as Bersatu president and a smaller group who follows Mahathir as Bersatu chairperson.

The Bersatu bloc in Parliament is currently split between the bulk of its MPs who joined Muhyiddin in late February to form the Perikatan National government and four others who remained aligned with Mahathir.

Commenting further, Anwar said it is up to Bersatu to resolve its current situation.

"We will see whether the party will be able to resolve its apparent split. People used to talk about a split in PKR, but now PKR remains as one solid unit.

"So I hope that it will be the same for them (Bersatu)," he said.

In the aftermath of the Sheraton Move which split Bersatu and sparked Harapan's downfall from government, PKR lost 11 MPs led by former party deputy president Azmin Ali.

This was followed by the current leadership's move to sack its members who had allegedly betrayed the party.

'Don't lose our humanity'

On a separate matter, Anwar reiterated his call for Malaysians to not lose their humanity in dealing with the Rohingya refugee crisis, amid a perceived targeted attack against the community here.

"We (Malaysia) should strive to protect them within our capabilities, while we put pressure on the government of Myanmar," he said in noting an urgent need for a more long-term solution to the humanitarian crisis.

On April 18, the Human Rights Watch reported that the Royal Malaysian Navy turned back a boat carrying about 200 Rohingya women, men, and children, while reportedly providing food to those on board two days prior.

Defense of the navy's move had sparked a wave of xenophobic and racist comments, including against Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia president Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani, who was wrongly accused of making demands including for the Rohingya to be granted Malaysian citizenship.

In addition, there is also an ongoing online petition urging the government to ignore tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees affected by the movement control order. - Mkini