PARTI Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently said that he is willing to work with anyone, including ‘previous enemies’ in the effort to push the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration out of Putrajaya in the next general election.
In his special address to PKR members, the Opposition leader said that the party must be open-minded instead of rejecting all forms of cooperation with other political parties in the country.
However, he said that any form of cooperation must come with strict terms and conditions so that promises are not broken and principles of good governance are not compromised.
While working with the ‘enemies’ might sound preposterous (why court unnecessary trouble, right?), here’s an unpopular thought: why not work with the ‘enemies’, if these ‘enemies’ share the same visions and goals, especially if it is for the sake of the country?
With the country in constant political disarray, talks about cooperating with political opponents seems to be the trend these days on both sides of the political divide. But whether or not these political alliances would actually come to fruition…well, who knows?
Recall that a few months ago, there had been claims that PKR and UMNO were trying to forge an alliance ahead of the 15th General Election (GE15).
More recently, former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that his Parti Pejuang Tanah Air might seek an arrangement with Parti Warisan Sabah and the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) in GE15.
This is after declaring that his party was not interested in forming a cooperation with Pakatan Harapan due to the latter’s baggage.
But before these political alliances can be discussed at length, it becomes more pressing for the Opposition bloc to get their own house in order and set their priorities straight.
After all, there have been quite a number of petty drama and political in-fighting of late, with the latest being a heated squabble over which logo Pakatan should use in GE15.
The public argument over which logo Pakatan should use in GE15 was triggered when PKR Youth chief Akmal Nasir proposed for PKR’s logo to be used in the next general election, just like in GE14 in 2018. This triggered a rebuke from both DAP and Amanah members.
In this case, DAP’s Anthony Loke said it best: this isn’t the time to talk about the GE15 logo, as leaders should focus on assisting the rakyat, who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indeed, if the Opposition cannot even get all the political parties under the coalition to unite for more important purposes, what hopes do they have in truly getting the ‘enemies’ to cooperate with them? – June 13, 2021
