FEAR OF LOSS OF FACE, NOT LOSS OF POWER PUSHING TEAM ANWAR TO POINT OF NO RETURN? - ONLY 2 STATE BY-ELECTIONS SEEN, NONE AT FEDERAL LEVEL
Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow!
KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - Fear of losing face rather than fear of losing the federal government may be what is keeping Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim from doing the 'principled thing' - and that is to give the green light to his stalwart to declare as vacant six controversial seats in Malaysia's 222-seat Parliament.
That the 76-year-old Anwar and his inner circle are inclined to use their power and authority to save themselves from looking foolish and being caught engineering dubious moves is evident from the calls that have rung out on social media, including from a Member of Parliament from his own PKR party Hassan Karim to do the "right thing"..
"I believe the right thing to do is that the six seats should be vacated on grounds that the speaker needs to respect the Federal Constitution which has been amended to enact the anti-party hopping law," said Hassan, who is the Pasir Gudang MP..
"I suggest to the speaker of Parliament to vacate the six parliamentary seats of Bersatu MPs. That is in line with the notice sent by Bersatu chief whip Ronald Kiandee yesterday after the membership of the six parliamentarians got terminated."
ONLY 2 BY-ELECTIONS, NOT 8?
PKR's Hassan Karim, MP for Pasir Gudang
Nonetheless, having gone so far as to even ignore the protests from the likes of election watchdog Bersih and other prominent members of civil society, Anwar and his inner circle may be tempted to pull even more questionable moves rather than back down.
"There are eight seats involved, so we are talking about eight by-elections - six at federal level and two at state assembly level. So far only the Kelantan state assembly has notified the Election Commission that a seat has been vacated," a political observer told PoliticsNow!
"I believe Selangor will follow Kelantan's lead to show the Malays that team Anwar is above petty things and whatever Kelantan can do, Anwar-controlled states like Selangor can do. But mind you, this is just a false show of professionalism because nobody really thinks the speaker of the federal Parliament who is Johari Abdul will do anything that will disadvantage Anwar because they are from the same PKR party. So it is likely there will be no go for the six federal seats."
MONEY POLITICS MAKING A FOOL OF VOTERS, PARLIAMENT
PKR's Johari Abdul, speaker of Parliament
Malays are the predominant electorate in the country and Anwar has so far been unable to win their hearts and minds, relying on the non-Malays who fear racial discrimination and extremism for support. The Kelantan state government is controlled by the Pas party, which is in the main PN opposition bloc led by Bersatu, the party helmed by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
In a game of political brinksmanship, team Anwar had earlier this year indirectly 'pinched' the six MPs and two assemblymen from the PN coalition. In exchange for constituency funds, the eight had declared support to Anwar and his government, while insisting they were still loyal to their Bersatu party so as to exploit a loophole in the newly-minted Anti-Hopping law.
This not only made a mockery of Parliament but also angered the people who saw it as blatant money politics. How can you be an effective opposition politician or play your role when you declare support to the government, how can you still be loyal to your party when you have declared loyalty for your party's political rival? These were the questions and reactions that thundered out from a displeased public, yet an unrepentant Anwar insisted that there was no good reason why he should reject loyalty pledges from anyone.
According to Anwar, his move to withhold funds from opposition MPs and assemblymen was within his discretionary power and aimed not to 'blackmail' or squeeze the weak reps in the opposition - but to build political stability so that he could focus on repairing the ailing economy.
EVEN MORE TOXIC STUNTS AHEAD? LAST STRAW FOR THE MALAYS
Nonetheless, the more cynical in Malaysia's hyperactive political scene also believe that only two by-elections at the state level will be held as Anwar's unity government has better odds to win these compared to the six at federal level, which most expect will be won again by the opposition - with voters opting to protect the moral high ground and thus dealing a slap to team Anwar for alleged political chicanery.
Already, Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi has staked a claim on the Kelantan seat for his Umno party. Umno is a key player in Anwar's unity government and its president Zahid is one of Anwar's strongest allies, without whose support Anwar would not have become prime minister.
"If the suspicions are true, the repercussions for Anwar and his Pakatan Harapan coalition especially his PKR party will be severe. You can say it will be the last straw on the camel's back for the Malay voters. They already dislike him and this will make them shun him even more," opined the political observer.
The six MPs are Syed Abu Hussin the Bukit Gantang MP, Zahari Kechik the Jeli MP, Azizi Abu Naim the Gua Musang MP, Iskandar Dzulkarnain the Kuala Kangsar MP, Suhaili Abdul Rahman the Labuan MP and Zulkafperi Hanapi the Tanjong Karang MP.
Azizi the Gua Musang MP is also the assemblymen for Nenggiri, while Selat Klang assemblyman Abdul Rashid Asari is the assemblyman for Selat Kelang.
Some of the 'rogue' reps have threatened to retaliate the Bersatu move to void their membership, with one already pursuing legal action.
"I ask as promised by the prime minister that his government does not interfere in court affairs,” said Hassan.
"The government does not need the support of parliamentarians who betray their own party. These six people not only betrayed PN, they betrayed voters in six parliamentary constituencies."
Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow!
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
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