KOTA KINABALU: With all the speculation swirling over a supposed power shift in Putrajaya, state governments aligned to Perikatan Nasional (PN) may have started fretting.
This, of course, also includes the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition, comprising PN, Barisan Nasional and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) here.
However, sources within the GRS ranks told FMT that no one is losing too much sleep over the issue of a change in government at the federal level. They believe such a scenario is not likely to take place.
Analysts also feel the same way.
Socio-political analyst Awang Azman Pawi said any power shift in Kuala Lumpur will definitely affect the political situation in the states but, as things are going, there has been no development to suggest such a change will happen.
“Everything is still being discussed and the actual agenda centres around the handling of Covid-19, the economy and reopening of Parliament,” he told FMT.
However, he said that if it does lead to a change of government, GRS will have something to be concerned about. He believes GRS has more to lose than other PN-aligned state governments.
“The most worried (parties) I think would be Bersatu and PAS.
“The others, such as Umno for instance, are seen as more flexible because they are not considered as the main enemies of Pakatan Harapan (PH), compared to Bersatu which left PH through the Sheraton Move.
“A majority of those in GRS are from Bersatu, who are ‘less friendly’ to PH, while other states have more Umno representatives,” Awang Azman said.
Oh Ei Sun, a fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, also felt GRS did not have anything to be worried about for now.
“At this point, we really don’t know what’s the true intention of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in summoning all the political leaders and convening a special Malay Rulers conference next week,” he told FMT.
Oh said the topics being hotly talked about are the reopening of the Dewan Rakyat and the ending of the state of emergency.
He said there was nothing much for any party to worry about, even if a parliamentary session is allowed during the emergency period.
“The government of the day could still employ various parliamentary procedures to block motions of no confidence (in the prime minister).
“So, having such sessions convened during the emergency doesn’t mean the government will fall,” he said.
However, if the emergency ended as planned on Aug 1, Oh said it might be a totally different story.
“His Majesty is bound by the constitution if, for example, Anwar Ibrahim or Ahmad Zahid Hamidi go to the King and say: ‘We have a majority’.
“The King is obliged to ask Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin if he still has the majority.
“If he doesn’t, the King has to ask him to step down or to dissolve Parliament. But since there is the pandemic now, a dissolution is unlikely, but he will have to ask the PM to resign.
“If that is the case, then, yes, parties like Bersatu and PAS will have to worry because they will no longer be in the ruling coalition. At the state-level, this might also rock them (GRS).
“There could be another power shift in the state, perhaps not through elections but with state assemblymen defecting again and so on,” Oh said.
He said there was also a possibility that the King would prefer the formation of a unity government, or National Operations Council (Mageran), in which case the ruling parties and the opposition will both be part of, and “everybody will be happy”.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s Lee Kuok Tiung does not see any chance of a power shift, saying the only political talk the King will likely touch on is about the Sarawak state election.
“Any election is only likely to be held after herd immunity against Covid-19 is achieved. Besides, there are also three other by-elections to be held, for the Batu Sapi and Gerik parliamentary seats and Bugaya state constituency.
“The opposition is also disunited now, meaning they don’t have a majority to take over the government. There is also no possibility of a new political realignment at this moment to effect that power shift,” he said. - FMT
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