SUCH seems to be the current state of affairs within the Madani administration as tension brews following the caution by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that ministers, deputy ministers and federal agency heads should quit if they want to start attacking coalition partners in the federal government.
This came about amid cordiality between key ruling allies Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) thinning as UMNO has virtually embraced PAS as campaigning for the Aug 1 Negeri Sembilan (N9) state election reaches a feverish pitch
In PMX’s contention, parties aligned at the federal level are free to contest against each other in state polls as part of the democratic process but those holding federal office must maintain discipline and not turn their positions into political platforms.
As such, candidates holding positions in the federal administration should limit their campaigning to state issues by refraining from attacking their unity government partners using their official positions.
“If they wish to do so, they should first resign from their positions as ministers, deputy ministers or members of agency boards,” he told reporters over the weekend (July 19) after attending the Madani Kita Programme at Dewan Komuniti Taman Perpaduan in Ipoh.
Apparently, PMX’s concern over using political ceramah as a platform to attack or contradict one another has been escalated to Deputy Prime Ministers (DPMs) Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
Two federal ministers are contesting in the N9 state election, namely Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook (Chennah seat) and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan a.k.a. Tok Mat (Rantau seat).
‘No badmouthing unity gov’t allies’
Whether PMX’s self-restrain measure is workable or not remains to be seen as Loke who is also the DAP secretary-general has already taken a swipe at BN by accusing its N9 chapter of backstabbing the PH-led state government and disrespecting the royal institution.
PMX was reacting to a call by PH Youth to all BN ministers and deputy ministers to resign from the Cabinet following the coalition’s cooperation with Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections.
This follows remarks by DPM Zahid who is also the BN chairman/UMNO president that the BN-PN understanding in Negeri Sembilan is a test case that could be extended to the 16th General Election (GE16).
“Zahid’s admission shows the BN-PN cooperation is no longer temporary or tactical but preparation for a new political alignment, thus raising serious questions about BN’s commitment to the unity government,” PH Youth hit out in a joint statement.
“Statements like this clearly show that BN no longer values the spirit of cooperation with PH in the unity government despite holding the position of DPM, several ministerial positions and other important positions in the unity government.”
This led to Tok Mat who is also the BN deputy chairman/UMNO deputy president expressing his preparedness to step down from the Cabinet if ordered to do so by PMX
“We aren’t badmouthing anyone in our campaign but only wanting to ensure the message reaches all voters,” he told the media at the BN district voting centre (PDM) at Taman Kelab Tuanku in Mambau on Sunday (July 19).
“There are no personal attacks but if there is an order from the Prime Minister for me to resign, I’ve no objection to resigning. It’s up to the PM because he’s the one who appoints the ministers and deputy ministers.”
UMNO’s no backdoor gov’t pledge
The latest development is that UMNO has given its assurance that it will honour the unity government pledge by never embarking on any backdoor government endeavour till the unity government is dissolved to pave the way for GE16.
UMNO secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki stressed that the matter is already contained in the agreement between the parties that form the unity government it will be respected.
But with regard to BN’s cooperation with PN in the Johor and N9 state polls, Asyraf who is also the Unity Government Secretariat head pointed to the need of “not mixing up” state and federal contexts.
“If there are parties, especially in the unity government, who’re still dissatisfied, it’s up to PMX to dissolve Parliament to give the rakyat a mandate to re-elect the government,” justified the MARA chairman.
Let’s not mix up the state elections with the understanding and agreement that exists at the Federal level.
The agreement on unity government formation is until GE16 or when the term of this government ends. In other words, it doesn’t bind any party to determine their respective political direction when the election date arrives.
All portfolios of ministers and chairmen of government agencies must be based on the agreement of the parties that form the unity government. Any changes or cancellations must be agreed upon by the parties in the unity government.
Therefore, the unity government at the federal level will continue to run and function as long as all parties respect the essence of the agreement that has been signed.
Thus, there’s no need for any form of threats, accusations or insults between the parties that form the unity government at the Federal level even though each of them leads a different direction at the state election level in Sabah, Johor or Negeri Sembilan. – July 21, 2026
