DESPITE Muda no longer being in the government bloc, Pakatan Harapan (PH) should not burn its bridges with the party if it wants to carry out reforms in Malaysia, said a former Johor PKR chairman.
Hassan Abdul Karim said the unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim still needs Muda’s support to push through reforms that require a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
“Today, the government only has 147 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat but a two-thirds majority approval requires the support of at least 148 MPs. This is where Muda is important, even though the party only has one parliamentary seat (Muar) won by its president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman,” Hassan said in a Facebook post today (Sept 21).
Hassan noted that despite Muda quitting the government bloc in Parliament, the party did not join Perikatan Nasional (PN) which has 74 MPs.
“As evident on Tuesday (Sept 19), when PN MPs staged a walkout from the Dewan Rakyat when Anwar was delivering his winding-up speech on the 12th Malaysia Plan mid-term review, Syed Saddiq did not follow suit and even stayed back until the debate was over.
“The unity government is currently trying to carry out two very important reforms related to national institutions; the Bill related to the separation of powers of the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor and the revival of the Parliament Services Act,” the Pasir Gudang MP said, adding that both require amendments to the Federal Constitution.
Hassan further recalled Syed Saddiq’s pledge that he would remain supportive of the government’s agenda when it comes to voting in the Dewan Rakyat on constitutional and institutional reforms.
Hassan then added that Anwar needs to pay attention to the positive stance of Muda, which wants to play a role as a constructive Opposition.
“The rakyat have not forgotten the role of Syed Saddiq as the youth and sports minister who spearheaded the efforts to amend the Constitution in 2018 to 2019 in Parliament with regards to the Undi18 Bill and Automatic Voter Registration in Parliament.
“Muda is not the current opposition party which is destructive and opposes just because it wants to oppose. That is why PH must not burn its bridge with Muda,” added Hassan.
On Sept 10, Muda president Syed Saddiq announced that his party has dropped out of the unity government after publicly expressing dissatisfaction with the abrupt halt of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s corruption trial.
Following Syed Saddiq’s decision, various parties have urged the Muar MP and Puteri Wangsa assemblywoman Amira Aisya Abd Aziz to vacate their seats.
The party’s exit left the government without a two-thirds majority just days after PH had restored the supermajority by winning the Pulai parliamentary by-election. – Sept 21, 2023
