MALAYSIA would be a hotbed of racism if Perikatan Nasional (PN) had formed the government after the recent general election (GE15), said Adam Adli Abd Halim. 

In defending Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) cooperation with long-time nemesis Barisan Nasional (BN) to form the unity government, the PKR Youth chief said that PN would have continued to spout racial rhetoric if they were in power. 

“It would have been a disaster if we were to allow racism to be the main narrative of the government,” the 34-year-old told The Malaysian Insight. 

“We saw the narratives played by PN throughout the election period. 

“PAS and Bersatu resorted to racial issues to justify why they should be the government,” the former student activist added. 

In the run-up to GE15, PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin was caught on camera stirring up anti-Jewish and anti-Christian sentiments, suggesting that Muslims would suffer under a PH government. 

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang also came under fire for using racial and religious rhetoric.  

Prior to GE15, Hadi had claimed that PH chief Anwar Ibrahim, now the prime minister, was being used by DAP to fish for Malay votes. 

Adam, who is now the deputy youth and sports minister, said PH’s pact with BN was an unpopular decision but it needed to be taken.

He said the pact ended the political impasse after GE15 as none of the coalitions had the numbers to form a government on their own. 

“We were in a deadlock then. There were only two choices for the country at that point. 

“Either have a PH-led government or PN-led government, both with BN in it. 

“In that instance, all of us collectively knew what was needed. 

“Of course, it was heavily criticised, but we have to face it. Some decisions are unpopular but necessary,” the Hang Tuah Jaya MP said. 

Right after GE15, PN asserted that it could form the government with the support of BN. 

Adam dismissed that, saying that PN had the support of only a few BN MPs. 

“PN claimed they had enough numbers to form the government only with the support of a handful of BN MPs. 

“What happened to the others? BN has 30 MPs. So, they expected the balance to be part of the opposition? We can’t have one party as both the government and the opposition. 

“That was why PH was clear on its stance. We never said we were short of 20 MPs, so we just needed 20. It was en bloc. 

“Everyone knew at that time, only with BN could a government be established. No one could find another solution,” he said. 

The Anwar-led coalition won 82 parliamentary seats in GE15, followed by PN (73), BN (30), and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (23), which resulted in the first-ever hung parliament. 

Following days of political standoff, PH formed the government by cooperating with BN, GPS, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, Muda, Warisan, Parti Bangsa Malaysia, and independents. 

PN was invited to be part of the unity government, but they rejected the offer. – February 3, 2023.