THE government led by newly minted Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is a coalition government and not a unity government as mentioned by many, experts said.

Many quarters have branded Anwar’s government, which was formed last Thursday after a power tussle between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN), as a unity government.

This was after the Yang diPertuan Agong had requested Anwar and PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin to unite and form a government following the general election last week.

Political scientist Prof Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University said a unity government in the comparative sense means a grand coalition government that includes the main contestants.

“This is a coalition government, not a grand coalition government, what people normally refer to as a unity government,” he said.

He said that a grand coalition government would have to include the main competitors citing the example of the political situation in Germany.

“With PN staying out, this can’t be a grand coalition government,” he added.

In Germany, two conservative parties, the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union, agreed to form a partnership with a centre left party, the Social Democratic Party.

“Anwar may still call it a unity government as Perak MB Saarani Mohamad calls his, but this is just a label like “Keluarga Malaysia” and should not be mistaken as a particular type (grand coalition government) in the comparative sense,” Wong explained.

Anwar, 75, was sworn in as the prime minister on Thursday before the king, ending the impasse after the elections failed to produce a clear winner. 

A day before, the king had met Anwar and Muhyiddin to discuss the possibility of forming a unity government. Muhyiddin, however, rejected the suggestion as PN had decided not to work with PH. 

PH leaders led by Anwar had previously met with BN leaders in effort to garner support from MPs from the coalition.

Anwar had also offered an olive branch to Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) which initially preferred PN over PH after securing the deal to cooperate with BN.

Agreeing with Wong was Badrul Hisyam Ismail of Iman Research.

Badrul said Muhyiddin’s decision to stay out of Anwar’s government was the right move as the country needs a functioning opposition.

“For me it is a coalition government rather than a unity government. At least we have an opposition to be the check and balance

“Anwar’s government is a coalition of PH, BN and GPS with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) also joining in. On paper, Anwar’s government looks as if it is a unity government but in practice it is not, it is a coalition.”

Today, a senior aide to Muhyiddin revealed that when the king requested a unity government between PN and PH, the two main winners of the November 19 general election, it included rotating the post of the prime minister.

Muhyiddin rejected the offer as it was against the coalition’s policy, the former prime minister’s private secretary Marzuki Mohamad said.

In a Facebook post to narrate the behind-the-scenes dealings in forming the new government, he said Muhyiddin told the palace that any cooperation with an Anwar Ibrahim-led PH was against the voters’ mandate given to PN.

Marzuki said PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang agreed with Muhyiddin’s decision.

No, it is a unity government

Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia disagreed with the other analysts, saying that Anwar’s government is a unity government.

He argued that the king had wished for a unity government and Anwar accepted the request by cooperating with BN, GPS and GRS.

“It was the wish from the Agong as the head of state, the Agong had used his own discretion in asking Anwar and Muhyiddin to form a unity government.”

“In the end, Anwar accepted the offer but Muhyiddin did not. It is a unity government because BN is not part of PH. BN, GRS and GPS agreed to set aside differences in order to end the political impasse and ensure that the country can function,” he said. – November 28, 2022