FORMER prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s speech at the opening of the parliamentary session clearly showed that the man was not in the mood of hanging his hoes.
Instead, he suggested that the green wave is likely to gather such momentum that would see his Perikatan Nasional (PN) making more political inroads.
He even cautioned Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim against making wild allegations that were aimed at tarnishing his reputation or to embark on the continuous witch-hunting which is likely to cost Pakatan Harapan (PH) heavily in the upcoming state elections slated middle of this year.
In all frankness, the motley-held coalition of Anwar has yet to clearly articulate its position coherently but instead appears to backpedal on many of the initiatives and reforms that the party stood on before coming to power.
Political analysts have chimed that Anwar must focus his efforts on shoring up the confidence of the people by articulating a roadmap that spells out the efforts to tackle the cost of living and decreasing foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country.
Many see a lack of congruence as leaders in the PH-led unity government appear to make contradictory statements such as the Economic Minister telling the public to boycott businesses that do not lower prices of goods and services without prior consideration of a study of the whole supply chain to ascertain factors that led to the in the increase in prices that are finally passed down to consumers at eateries.
Dicey situation
PH’s fuzzy political positioning is not likely to endear the Malays who see Anwar as compromising many values not to mention the risk of alienating many who already voted for him in the last national poll.
Touted as a reformist and anti-corruption crusader, Anwar’s narrative falls flat on his face following the appointment of Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi as Deputy Prime Minister (DPM).
Anwar was quick to defend the UMNO president’s appointment as one based on the principle of innocent until proven guilty despite having to contend with 47 corruption charges spanning from bribery to money laundering and criminal breach of trust (CBT) levelled against the latter.
Ironically, PH MPs have remained silent on Zahid’s DPM appointment but are relentless in their attack against the former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak who was accused of embezzling huge amounts of money long before the pronouncements of the court.
The coalition appears to use a different set of principles depending on which side of the political corridor they stand on. Political expediency appears to be the overriding consideration for all.
The PM who had spoken against nepotism then goes on to appoint his daughter Nurul Izzah as his senior financial/economic adviser – a move which invoked a chorus of condemnation with the opposition asking the PM to revoke the appointment and for Anwar to “walk his talk” by not dragging PKR’s nepotism into his administration.
Anwar was relentless in defending the appointment of his daughter, arguing that her experience as an MP would come in handy when engaging with “experts in navigating economic governance, accountability and evidence-based policies”.
Responses from netizens were brutal which finally led to her resignation, but she was subsequently offered to join the Finance Minister’s special advisory body chaired by Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican.
One wonders how different the new appointment would be as they see this essentially as Nurul Izzah doing the same thing she set out to do but in a new office.
The latest chain of events points to PH’s political positioning appearing to be shaky and even going against the coalition’s very own reformist stance before coming into power.
In essence, PH is unlikely to endear itself to voters who had backed PN in the recently-concluded GE15 but instead very likely to alienate some of them further.
With its fuzzy political positioning, PH’s future appears to be fraught with uncertainty and is likely to weigh heavily in the forthcoming state polls. – Feb 20, 2023
