IN the world of politics where there is no permanent enemy but permanent interest, Malaysians are accustomed to seeing political opponents kiss and make up.

There was the 2018 reconciliation between arch enemies Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim. And more recently, old adversaries Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional teamed up to form a unity government.

Many would agree making Dr Mahathir the first PH prime minister was a grave error that not only cost PH a full term of executive power, but also gave voters the impression that the PH government was not committed to reforms. 

And now, beneath the increasingly close union between PH and BN, it appears that Umno is now asking for a royal pardon for its disgraced former president Najib Razak as the ultimate quid pro for the party’s support for Anwar’s premiership.

If Najib were to be granted his freedom, it would truly spell the end of PH as a credible political coalition.

Observers would have heard the arguments for freeing Najib in the news and social media after the Umno Supreme Council proceeded with the application for a royal pardon.

An analyst has contended that the unity government will stand to benefit from the charisma and influence of the former prime minister if he were pardoned.

Umno cybertroopers, or more accurately, Najib’s henchmen have also been on social media demanding his release.

All this is presumably done with the purpose of testing whether the prime minister and his coalition are willing to grant Umno yet another favour. 

PH is also not helping itself by tip-toeing around the issue, which must be extremely disappointing for those who voted for the coalition to have Najib held accountable for malfeasance.

Instead of snuffing out the question as soon as it was raised by the Umno Supreme Council, Anwar has taken a legally correct but politically meek position by passing the ball to the monarch.

A seasoned politician like Anwar should know that such a response would not appease PH voters but only invite more troubling speculation over yet another internal Umno tussle.  

Anwar’s action is a great mistake and a politically destabilising one. It will put the monarch into yet another awkward position in which he will be forced to make a decision which has immense political ramifications.

This would have been a non-issue if Muhyiddin Yassin were in charge instead of Anwar.

Given the animosity between the two, the question of pardoning Najib would not even arise under Muhyiddin’s leadership.

There would be no propaganda to create a basis for Najib’s release because Muhyiddin, although a flawed prime minister, would insist on holding Najib to account for his criminality and certainly not entertain the demand for a pardon from Umno, a party he wished to eliminate. 

This is perhaps the biggest political difference between a government led by Muhyiddin where Anwar and PH would always have an albatross around its neck so long as this government requires the support of Umno and the Malay support it brings. 

PH voters have overlooked and even tolerated PH when it behaves opportunistically.

They were told to look at the big picture when PH decided to join forces with Mahathir’s Bersatu.

Their understanding was tested to the limit when Anwar decided to take Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Umno into the fold on the premise that this was necessary prevent Perikatan Nasional from taking power.

However, I believe pardoning Najib would be a step too far and one that could see PH being punished for it at the polls.

Malaysians are already threatening on social media to withhold their vote in the state elections should Najib walk feee.

Never mind the Malay votes, PH could even have trouble keeping its supporter base intact should the Najib question be allowed to fester in the public mind

And frankly what is the point of a political party if it is so lost that its core supporters will desert it?  – April 16, 2023.

* Kenneth Cheng has always been interested in the interplay between human rights and government but more importantly he is a father of two cats, Tangyuan and Toufu. When he is not attending to his feline matters, he is most likely reading books about politics and human rights or playing video games. He is a firm believer in the dictum “power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will”.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.