Anwar’s unity coalition faces ‘ultimate test’ of coalition unity

 With a Cabinet reshuffle looming, an academic urges the prime minister to be bold, even if it means swapping portfolios among parties.

Anwar Ibrahim’s unity coalition could face its biggest test following the controversies involving Rafizi Ramli and Tengku Zafrul Aziz.

PETALING JAYA:

 With two ministers quitting and one exiting Umno with the hope of joining PKR, an analyst believes that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim faces his biggest test yet to keep the peace in his unity government.

Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid of Universiti Sains Malaysia said Cabinet changes are certainly in order, especially for the economy and environment portfolios relinquished by PKR’s Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

However, he said Tengku Zafrul’s resignation from Umno and application to join Anwar’s own party could trigger ill will between Umno and PKR, which are among the major component parties of the unity government.

He said Anwar must be bold in tackling grouses head-on and ensure that the fundamental understanding of the unity coalition must not be harmed just because of one leader defecting to an allied party.

“If the prime minister thinks it’s appropriate to go for a major reshuffle, then so be it. But he must act boldly, even if he needs to switch portfolios between parties, such that not one party can claim a ministerial position as its absolute right.

“This may be the prime minister’s ultimate test as the leader of a government that foregrounds unity as its main trait,” he told FMT.

On the other hand, political analyst Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani of ADA Southeast Asia said Anwar’s major challenge was looking for suitable candidates to fill the minister posts under PKR’s quota.

He said Tengku Zafrul risked becoming a mere “placeholder minister” if he was not dropped in a Cabinet reshuffle, since his tenure as senator ends at the end of the year.

“Anwar is currently facing difficulties finding suitable candidates for the vacant ministerial positions from the available pool of PKR leaders,” he said.

Fauzi said a by-election in a comfortable mixed seat could be easily called to allow Tengku Zafrul to be elected an MP and retain his ministership. While some may deem such a move unethical, it is not illegal, he pointed out.

“The only issue with this is Anwar’s flagging popularity among the PKR rank and file due to the Rafizi saga, and Tengku Zafrul’s own weak grassroots politics, which may lead people to question why sacrifices should be made for him.”

Rafizi and Nik Nazmi quit their Cabinet posts on Wednesday following their defeats in the PKR central leadership elections, where they lost their posts of party deputy president and vice-president respectively.

Two days later, Tengku Zafrul announced his resignation from Umno while voicing his intention to join PKR, saying he had conveyed this to Anwar, the PKR president.

This led to multiple Umno leaders warning PKR against accepting the senator as a member, as well as calls for Tengku Zafrul to step down as the investment, trade and industry minister.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also a deputy prime minister, also urged Anwar to ensure Umno retains its quota of seven ministers in the Cabinet.

Fauzi believed the matter could be resolved at the unity government secretariat council, adding that Anwar and Zahid’s “mentor-mentee” relationship was almost the bedrock of the unity government.

While the prime minister will need to manage the optics in the eyes of Umno members, Fauzi said Anwar might have a tougher time pacifying members of his own party discontent over Rafizi’s ousting, due to the perception that the PKR president had a hand in it.

However, Asrul did not expect Umno members to be particularly antagonised about Tengku Zafrul’s departure, saying the ministerial post was a bigger factor to the party.

“His departure is unlikely to cause much pain for Umno, as Tengku Zafrul was not very popular among the party’s grassroots and local leaders,” he said. - FMT