FORMER UMNO information chief Shahril Hamdan said it is better that the party does not form a coalition government with any party as it has no “moral standing” to do so following its dismal performance during Saturday’s (Nov 19) polls, adding it should sit in the opposition bloc in Parliament.
In a statement, Shahril said while there may be no one clear winner – leading to a hung Parliament as no single party got a 112-seat simple majority – it is clear that UMNO/Barisan Nasional (BN) has lost.
“(It) will be quite difficult to rationalise to the rakyat how a party that lost can be in the government when a party or parties which got 70 or 80 seats became opposition (parties),” he noted, referring to Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH).
During the 15th General Elections (GE15), PH won 82 seats, PN 73, BN 30 and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) 22. All parties have until 2pm today to notify the National Palace about any post-GE15 pacts and their respective prime minister candidates.
While GPS claims it has formed a bloc with PN, BN and GRS to form a coalition government, UMNO president-cum-BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has staunchly denied this, on the back of calls for his head over UMNO/BN’s disastrous national and state polls outings (the coalition also failed to retain control of Perlis, Perak and Pahang).
Shahril, who quit his post as UMNO information chief as part of collective responsibility for the party’s GE15 loss, said it was an entirely different story if UMNO/BN was part of such a pact pre-GE15.
“But (this is not the case). There is no moral standing for us to be involved in the government.
“This time, there is no pandemic or internal rifts among the parties that won the elections which necessitate we be the ‘saviour’ of any situation. There is no argument or justification like in March 2020,” he added, referring to UMNO/BN’s decision to join forces with PN to form a government after the Sheraton Move of 2020.
“The greater good”
And even if the “greater good” demands that UMNO/BN help any coalition reach the 112 magic number so a prime minister can be appointed (as per the Federal Constitution), Shahril said several things must be clear:
- That UMNO/BN is part of the opposition and not the government;
- That UMNO/BN’s support for such a coalition government is limited to providing “technical assistance” over the prime minister’s appointment;
- That UMNO/BN only helps to pass “money bills”, especially Budget 2023 – provided that their views are taken into account, UMNO/BN is free to criticise the government and play its part as a constructive opposition, and if at all they do not agree with the Budget, they are free to abstain from voting, and;
- That UMNO/BN MPs are free to vote or oppose any other Bills in the Dewan Rakyat, keeping in line with the overall stand of their respective parties.
Shahril, who lost the Alor Gajah seat in GE15 by a slim 890 votes, reiterated that UMNO/BN must focus on its reform agenda and do some serious reflection so it can rise from its “colossal defeat”.
He said UMNO/BN should also not be “distracted” by being part of the government and then having to justify its involvement for five years – a decision that would be used against them to the point it performs even worse during the next general elections.
“Furthermore, we have been ‘at war’ with PH and PN, not for two weeks but for a long time now and quite seriously,” he added. “Even before GE15, it was already unstable with the internal situation (infighting) of the (PN-BN) coalition government. So, to continue being with such parties will be very awkward.
“Maybe it’s less awkward for them because if we’re involved, they’ll be the leader and we’ll just be complementary,” he noted. “But… we have to have ‘class’: we lost, they won and we (should) focus on rebuilding this party.” – Nov 21, 2022
