I PRESUME no one would seriously believe Bersatu deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu that Perikatan Nasional (PN) is not involved in an attempted coup in any form.

Even if PN is not actively planning to topple the government, it is at the very least privately encouraging it.

Moreover, if rumours making the rounds on social media are true, it would be led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Daim Zainuddin, and PN would be the prime benefactor. 

We are all aware that the first Pakatan Harapan government would most likely be serving a full term if it were not for Muhyiddin Yassin and Mohamed Azmin Ali.

Yet, this does not deter the likes of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang from preaching his grand theory of “tebuk atap” where the first PN government was formed out of necessity.

Even Hadi understands it is always more pleasing to the public that undemocratic intervention is necessary to replace a government that was bound to collapse, rather than a carefully planned usurpation with the collusion of insiders. 

However, PN should also be aware that any attempt to repeat the Sheraton Move would be more difficult and less politically fruitful because of new laws and the decline of voter deference.

First, the introduction of the anti-party hopping law into Malaysian politics has prohibited MPs from switching their allegiance casually, and this would mean any political manoeuvring on the scale of 2020 would be nigh impossible unless a party leader is involved directly.

Muhyiddin might still have been able to lead Bersatu to form an alternative government under the new law but Azmin’s gang of 11 would definitely lose their status as MPs for rebelling against PKR.

This also means that confidence in the government or prime minister is more locked in and only subject to the diktat of the party leader.   

The fact that the choice of the prime minister is now left to the party leadership’s discretion is perhaps the most important change that prevents another sudden change in government.

This is precisely why the likes of Hishammuddin Hussein and Hasni Mohammad are effectively being dragged against their will to support a prime minister in whom they have no confidence.

Therefore, the only viable method that could collapse the current government is for dissenting MPs to trigger a series of by-elections to switch their allegiance.

This would inadvertently strike a harsh blow at the government but at the same time, resigning MPs have to, yet again, go through the rigmarole of seeking a mandate from their constituents.

Also, the act of creating by-elections merely to overturn a sitting government – and plunge the nation into further political instability – might not sit well with the voters. 

This is perhaps why a Sheraton Move 2.0, even if it comes to fruition, would not benefit PN in the long term.

The main players of the original Sheraton Move are the political elites, whose deals were struck without any transparency.

Yet, now there must be a significant number of by-elections and, most important, voters must pronounce their judgment first.

The majority of Malaysians do not wish to witness yet another round of political upheaval, which frankly brings more harm to the country; and this applies to those new voters that PN gained during the last election.

Voters would surely blame PN for these unnecessary by-elections and this would only derail the momentum that PH has gained thus far.

There is also the little matter of the impending six state elections, in which many believe PN will make significant inroads.

An attempt to take Putrajaya before then might even come at a heavy cost, where PN would allow PH or BN to gain some seats in its treasured states of Kelantan and Terengganu.

Also, PN would be rightly labelled as a party that can only acquire power through defection and backdoor methods.

It could boast about being the party with the strongest Malay support all it wants, but the votes matter very little if it is to proceed with another Sheraton Move.

Muhyiddin may ask why he was constantly being pressured to step down at a time when all political and executive energy should be concentrated on combating a once in a generation virus.

The reason why he never had the goodwill of the public stems from how he came to power, devoid of a democratic election.

PN would be foolish if it chooses to gamble and repeat the same fatal mistake. – April 30, 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.