Internal feud may bring down Anwar’s govt

 

From Yap Long Chuan

A modern-day Malaysian Rip Van Winkle who woke up from a six-month slumber yesterday can be forgiven for thinking that the country’s political landscape has not changed much since the 15th general election (GE15).

The polls saw Anwar Ibrahim made prime minister after winning support from several disparate parties. But beyond that, little has changed.

The coalition of parties Anwar cobbled together had been at loggerheads for the longest time. And they are still at it despite supposedly being on the same political side now.

To paraphrase former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, this unholy alliance is like a forced marriage of convenience. He stopped short of saying that this political matrimony is set to crumble – as most marriages not built on trust and love are.

And who can blame Ismail when the coalition partners in Anwar’s unity government do not even have the decency to bury their “marital woes” but instead choose to openly bicker about their differences?

For example, DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang openly sparred with Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi over Umno’s decision to appeal to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to issue a royal pardon to former prime minister Najib Razak.

Lim had said that freeing Najib would impede efforts to reinvigorate Umno. Puad responded by telling Lim to just shut up – openly, without blunting his words and with the same arrogance Umno has been known for. Bad blood truly runs deep between the two parties.

MCA and DAP too, have no compunction about openly quarrelling – as they have for decades.

Former transport minister and MCA president Wee Ka Siong traded barbs and insults with current transport minister and DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook about the exorbitant airfares to Tawau during the festive season.

Another MCA man then asked human resources minister V Sivakumar from DAP to go on leave after three of his officers were hauled up by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for an investigation into corruption allegations.

DAP shot back asking why MCA had stayed silent when Najib plundered the country, opening old wounds between both parties.

It’s not just MCA asking Sivakumar to go on leave. Today, PKR’s Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim also did likewise in a move that is sure to test ties within Pakatan Harapan itself.

Allies in Putrajaya, foes in Sarawak

Across the South China Sea, it was quite clear that DAP and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) had not quite buried the hatchet despite saying otherwise.

DAP’s Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii and the state government had gotten into a shameless war of words over the latter’s plans to set up a boutique airline.

In any case, the Sarawak chapter of DAP has announced that it intends to stay as the opposition in the state legislative assembly. How does that even work or can it be sustainable?

At the federal level, DAP and GPS are buddies, but at the state level they are sworn enemies? Isn’t that like a couple keeping their marriage in the morning and staying divorced at night?

What kind of marriage is this unity government monstrosity?

A popular adage states that marital problems start to creep in during the seventh year, hence the “seven-year itch”. But Anwar’s government is not even seven months old and appears to be imploding already.

What’s more ironic is that Loke, presumably worried about the spate of “friendly fire” within the unity government, had recently accused Perikatan Nasional (PN) of willing to stop at nothing to bring down the federal government.

Seriously? The unity government does a much better job at bringing down Anwar than PN ever will. The coalition partners in the unity government are shooting themselves in the foot every day so it’s a stretch to blame PN for its eventual downfall.

And if the Rip Van Winkle mentioned at the start of this article were to stay asleep for a few months more, he may then wake up to the exact political landscape like before GE15 – a world where Umno and DAP, as well as MCA and DAP, fight daily and Anwar is not the PM. - FMT

Yap Long Chuan is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.