Malay support vital for survival of unity govt, says analyst

 

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang (left) claims that there are signs of discontent in the government of Anwar Ibrahim.

PETALING JAYA: An analyst has warned of the imminence of the government’s ouster following an indication that PAS is planning to gather opposition forces against it.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania said the unity government’s lack of Malay support made it “highly likely” that it will fall before its term is up.

However, he also said this could change if Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Umno managed to “pull some Malay support” during the upcoming state polls.

Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Selangor, Kedah, Terengganu and Penang must hold state elections within the next four months.

Chin said Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan and Umno would have to win three of the six states and Anwar would have to expand his base in Kelantan and Terengganu for the government to achieve some stability.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang recently said the opposition had every right to formulate plans to oust the government. He said the dynamic nature of politics made a change of stand possible among Bersatu leaders who had said they preferred to remain in the opposition.

Chin said there was no such thing as “wanting to remain in the opposition”.

“If you don’t want to get in power, you should not be in politics,” he said.

Another analyst, Council of Professors fellow Jeniri Amir, disagreed that Anwar’s government was unstable, saying it commanded the support of East Malaysian parties as well as Barisan Nasional.

He said Hadi was daydreaming.

“He is only interested in toppling the government although he knows the public is fed up with his statements on that,” he said.

“Also, Anwar now is committed to fulfilling his manifesto. So I think Hadi should put national interest ahead of his narrow political interest to ensure the nation moves forward.”

Jeniri said Malaysia would be the laughing stock of the world if the Anwar administration were to fall since it would be the fourth change of administrations in three years.

The Sheraton Move threw the country into political chaos in 2020, leading to the resignation of Dr Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister and the installation of Muhyiddin Yassin in his place. Muhyiddin was in power for 17 months before losing support, after which Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed as prime minister for 14 months before Parliament was dissolved to make way for the 15th general election. - FMT