With racial and religious rhetoric seemingly on the decline, Anwar Ibrahim’s cabinet line-up has become the latest target for Perikatan Nasional to peck at, with coalition leaders trying to paint the prime minister as a “lame duck”.
This came after Digital Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil tried to defend Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s appointment as deputy premier by saying that Anwar was not able to appoint whomever he wants.
Instead, Fahmi said cabinet appointments were a collective decision made by the prime minister and leaders of other parties and coalitions within the federal government, which consists of Pakatan Harapan, BN, GPS, GRS, Warisan, and others.
Bersatu Youth information chief Mohd Ashraf Mustaqim Badrul Munir, said Fahmi’s explanation confirms that Anwar is indeed a “lame duck PM”.
Ashraf, who repeatedly called Anwar by that moniker in his Facebook posts since yesterday, said the Tambun MP had to bow down and does not have power over BN’s demands.
“Imagine what other demands (from BN) there will be in the future?
“Does that not show his principles have been ‘pawned’?” he asked.
Ashraf claimed this had already impacted Anwar’s ability to appoint good Harapan leaders such as Dzulkefly Ahmad, having instead to appoint Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz whom the former health minister had defeated during the November polls.
“Anwar did not appoint Dzul, as promised. Doesn’t that show his (Anwar) incompetency? Isn’t that proof that he’s a ‘lame duck’?
“Many Amanah leaders are better certified, among them (Alor Gajah MP) Adly Zahari, but he did not appoint them. Instead, (Amanah president) Mohamad Sabu and DAP were still chosen.
“This is not a reformist, is this a political party government or a government for the people?”
Who calls the shots?
Meanwhile, Shah Alam Bersatu deputy chief Dr Afif Bahardin also issued a statement questioning if Anwar was a lame duck.
“Do we have a head of government or is this a government without an effective premier?
“If Anwar is too weak and helpless to even keep kleptocrats out of his cabinet, how can his government bring meaningful change or reform for the rakyat?
“More importantly, whose government is it? Who calls the shots or makes the decisions in this government? Is it Anwar or Zahid who faces 47 corruption charges?” the former PKR man asked, in response to Fahmi’s statement.
Afif also condemned Fahmi’s “desperate” attempt to justify the ministerial appointments by hiding behind the unity government concept.
“Fahmi and other BN-Harapan government members must stop repeating the lie that we have a unity government in Malaysia. This new government is not a unity government,” he said.
Afif argued that a unity government requires all parties to be represented and since PN - which has 73 seats - is not, Harapan is leading a “coalition government” instead.
On Nov 25, PN chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin rejected Anwar’s offer to join the latter’s unity government and confirmed that PN will remain as an opposition bloc.
Yesterday, Muhyiddin claimed that Anwar had “pawned” the principles of good governance as preached during the election campaign when he appointed a "kleptocrat" to the cabinet.
The Bersatu president said that Anwar’s cabinet is the most disappointing cabinet line-up in the country's history, when a person who has been told to enter his defence on 47 charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT), corruption, and money laundering, was appointed deputy prime minister.
He also alleged that MPs who are renowned for "extreme chauvinism" have also been appointed to head certain ministries, which he predicted would court controversy. Muhyiddin however did not mention names.
“We can expect extremely racist policies to be introduced. Our country's system has been spoilt when a morally bankrupt individual has been appointed to be at the helm, and a corrupt individual, to be in the cabinet.
“The responsibility and compassion towards the people have gone and the rakyat has also lost trust in the country's leadership," he added.
The shift in rhetoric by PN to focus on governance appears to be led by Bersatu.
Previously, a bulk of PN’s attacks against the government which caught headlines came from PAS and were racially and religiously charged.
However, the Conference of Rulers on Thursday called for an end to racial and religious incitement, following which there had been a lull of attacks along these lines. - Mkini
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