PM's top five problems

 

The country has a unity government for the first time and this will come with a series of unprecedented problems.

Malaysiakini lists five of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's top challenges in order of their deadlines.

Unity cabinet - as soon as possible

Anwar's first challenge will be to form a unity cabinet.

For his government to be stable, Anwar will be pressed to ensure equitable distribution of cabinet positions.

In particular, Anwar will need a finance minister, fast. He has to retable the federal budget for 2023.

So far, there is an indication that the two main partner coalitions - BN and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) - will each have a deputy prime minister position.

Anwar will also have to find a way to consolidate the election pledges of the three major partner coalitions, or at least convince the other smaller two to adopt Pakatan Harapan's.

Twin elections - Dec 7

The acceptance of Anwar's unity government will be tested at the polls on Dec 7, where two elections are taking place - Padang Serai parliamentary seat and Tioman state seat.

The more important of the two is the Padang Serai election in Kedah.

Although there is a unity government at the federal level, BN and Warisan who have both pledged support for Anwar, have candidates for Padang Serai.

Granted, BN and Warisan made a decision to field candidates, but pulling out their candidates will likely be read as a gesture of goodwill. It should be noted that Warisan already announced its withdrawal from the race, but its candidate will still appear on ballot papers as per election rules.

However, should Harapan lose the by-election, it will definitely be treated as a mini-referendum on Anwar, especially if the candidate from Perikatan Nasional (PN) - the biggest opposition bloc - wins.

Mini budget - Dec 19

Anwar has pledged to convene the Dewan Rakyat on Dec 19 and hold a confidence vote.

The confidence vote is of course largely symbolic because his majority will be tested when the Dewan Rakyat votes on his mini budget (supply bill) to pay civil servant salaries.

That sitting will almost certainly include a motion by the prime minister to install a new Dewan Rakyat speaker.

Both need to be passed by a simple majority.

Failure will mean Anwar does not have the majority and the search for a new prime minister begins.

Umno AGM - Dec 21

If Anwar survives Parliament, then the next challenge will be whether his new allies among Umno's top brass can convince their grassroots to endorse the unity government.

Umno will be having its annual delegates assembly between Dec 21 and 24.

This is an annual event in the Dewan Merdeka hall of the World Trade Center Kuala Lumpur that has been peppered with Anwar-bashing since 1998.

As the highest decision-making body within Umno, party delegates can order the leadership to withdraw from the unity government and cause its collapse.

With 26 seats, Umno has the third largest number of seats in the unity government.

Alternatively, party delegates can even suspend or remove certain leaders, thereby putting in place leaders who are against the unity government.

However, going against the unity government comes with the risk of souring ties with the monarchy.

State elections - from March 2023 onwards

If Anwar's premiership survives past the monsoon season, his next challenge will be the election for six state legislative assemblies - Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

That election will test if Anwar's Harapan coalition will be able to strike an election pact with BN.

Failure will likely guarantee PN victory in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, based on the 15th general election result.

It will also expose Harapan-held states to risk should there be a multi-cornered fight. - Mkini