Grassroots Amanah leaders back 'grand coalition' idea

 

A group comprising mostly of state or local Amanah Youth leaders have expressed support for a "grand coalition" among opposition parties.

The statement signed by 108 leaders said unity among the opposition is important to face the next general election.

"Pakatan Harapan should be progressive and reopen the window for negotiations with other opposition parties to rebuild their image and strength in the coming year.

"The idea of a 'grand coalition' is not a plan to sideline any Harapan component party, but it will require renewed efforts to bring opposition parties to a single vision and mission - to oust the kleptocrats and uphold democracy, integrity and good governance," the group said.

They said that it was also time for opposition parties to promote fresh faces and put aside past differences.

The statement was signed by 104 Amanah Youth office bearers at the state and division levels. In addition, there were four figures in the list who hold positions at the national level.

Some opposition figures from Amanah and DAP have been talking of a "political reset" after PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim's claim that he commanded the majority support of the country's MPs failed to materialise.

Anwar had been making the claims since Sept 23. When Budget 2021 was voted on over the past six weeks, the opposition was only able to put 108 votes at the very maximum.

Following this, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng issued a joint statement stating that focus for the opposition was uniting the parties which the 108 MPs represented. 

The duo suggested that the opposition had been used by "opportunistic backbenchers" through empty promises of defeating the budget in order to extract concessions from the government.

Mohamad and Lim have been habitually issuing joint statements, sans PKR, despite the three parties being in the same coalition. - Mkini