IF you’ve been hibernating since November 2022 and woke up to a reality where the government is becoming increasingly intolerant to dissent while books about Karl Marx are confiscated and rainbow watches are outright banned because they might “harm morals”, you’d most likely bet that the one holding the keys in Putrajaya is either Ahmad Zahid Hamidi or Muhyiddin Yassin.

Given that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been actively burnishing his Islamic credentials with an expanded Islamic Development Department, which has led to criticism of creeping Islamisation, some have even joked this is more like what a prime minister from PAS would do.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) or Anwar might contend they were forced to share power with Barisan Nasional (BN) and therefore face a limit to what the current government, comprising so many ideologically different parties, can achieve.

But this is also a federal government dominated by the personality of Anwar, and some may say the partnership with Zahid has strengthened his position.

As opposed to Muhyiddin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who are constantly haunted either by the spectre of lost majority or internal rebellion, the current prime minister did not have to deal with disloyalty from his benches.

After three years, Anwar finally has a two-thirds’ majority that is indeed strong, formidable and convincing, and most importantly, he has Ismail Sabri to thank for the anti-party hopping law that provided added insurance to his position.

And as in the case of the Madani Economy, the prime minister cum finance minister possesses enormous agenda setting power that it appears no cabinet ministers are prepared to go against.

The trouble, as always, lies with Umno, and you may say all the three previous prime ministers’ offices were shortened by Umno’s political machinations, which brought our country almost to the brink of implosion.

The Sheraton Move would not have even occurred if Umno didn’t have the intention to topple an insecure but fairly stable government.

The premiership of Muhyiddin and Ismail Sabri was always beholden to Zahid, as BN chairman, with the coalition holding more parliamentary seats than Bersatu or PAS from 2020 to 2022.

Muhyiddin was dislodged because of loss of confidence from Zahid, while Ismail Sabri was pressured by the Umno president to dissolve parliament much sooner than he hoped for.

However, the last general election further weakened Umno to the point Zahid lost the political capital to undermine another prime minister.

Zahid himself would know best that working with PH might be the last dance for Umno, and, most importantly, his own political career.

This is perhaps where the current prime minister should take advantage of a weak Umno and maybe even force Zahid into agreeing to the reforms PH promised.

Given that the state elections are over, the prime minister, at least in the short run, will not be dethroned.

Even Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) idea of a referendum was underwhelming and appeared to be a fanciful wish of Abdul Hadi Awang when PH retained Selangor.

With such an enviable position and a subdued Umno, this begs the question why after more than nine months, PH is so underwhelming in delivering its reforms.

This is much more than pandering to the right wing, as some commentators have suggested, rather it is PH admitting defeat in accepting that society can only be tinkered with, not wholly changed.

PN on the other hand would have had no issue with how Umno once governed, with the only real difference being personal, and which political party would be in charge.

Take for example the Pride watches – we would be rightly furious if it occurred when Muhyiddin was in charge, but the anger and disappointment was even greater as it happened under a supposedly more progressive PH.

Fence-sitters would not be convinced by PH’s volte face and would rather trust the devil (PN’s BN-like governing style) that they know.

PH must understand it was elected for the reforms it promised. It would not have garnered any support if everyone was comfortable with the status quo.

The rise of PH meant people were willing to change, so only by changing how the government works can PH stay relevant.

And with Umno in such dire states and the prime minister finally getting some breathing room, you could say it is now or never for PH to start delivering. – August 27, 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”.