WHILE Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is focused on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, there are also political issues he needs to deal with given the circumstances in which his government came into power, said DAP strategist Liew Chin Tong.

As it stands, there are claims that Muhyiddin’s political partners, Umno and PAS, are eyeing government positions due to Bersatu’s weak position in the Perikatan Nasional pact. Things are also not quite smooth internally in his party.

Muhyiddin became prime minister on March 1 with the backing of Umno, PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and several independent parties in Sabah.

Liew, a former ally of Muhyiddin, believed the prime minister could be popular if he stuck to the anti-corruption agenda set by the previous Pakatan Harapan government.

“In terms of anti-corruption, I think that is a line he would want to maintain. I would be very surprised if he compromises his whole life’s reputation to save Najib,” said Liew recently in an interview with The Malaysian Insight.

Liew shared PH’s plans until the next general election and his views on whether the new government would press on with the corruption charges against Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former party president Najib Razak.

TMI: Where do you see Muhyiddin on the question of Umno president Zahid and ex-president Najib completing their court cases?

Liew: I am surprised that Muhyiddin took the Malay government line. But in terms of anti-corruption, I think that is a line he would want to maintain (the anti-corruption line). I would be very surprised if he compromises his whole life’s reputation to save Najib.

What’s the point of wasting five years from being sacked in 2016 to come back full circle?

I think he has to draw a line on the question of Zahid and Najib, and corruption issues from the previous government. I’m not sure if the politics of convenience would change that. I will have to see.

Perikatan Nasional is not an electoral coalition but a coalition to grab power. A simple fact is my conversation with Muhyiddin on February 5. I told him that if he works with Umno and PAS, Bersatu will be eaten alive because the three parties are competing on the same grounds and on the same ideology.

But looking at the cabinet structure, he’s trying to eat Umno alive. But that’s a different story.

TMI: The PH government didn’t enjoy stellar popularity in the run up to its ousting. Will people give you a second chance?

Liew: We cannot rule out Perikatan doing well. If Muhyiddin decides to focus on the anti-corruption agenda, he will be very popular. We cannot deny that possibility.

But if we re-group well, everyone will realise that it’s not just about PH. When we were in government our NGO friends started pushing the buck to us, but now many of them realise we have to do it together.

We were to be blamed because we were learning to govern and fighting too many fires. Our friends must be together to do it with us.

There were those in the civil societies who felt that they were the opposition opposing an authoritarian government. But after the elections, some of them thought it was still their role to oppose PH. I thought it came too early as we were trying to build democracy but it was very difficult.

In the next round, civil society and friends will have to sit down and see how to do this together. By now, there are many experts on how to win the elections.

But next round is not about winning elections but winning a sizeable majority. It’s about showing everyone that we are ready to govern better, but with a wider society who is ready to devote time to the governing processes.

TMI: Has there been introspection in PH since it lost power?

Liew: Most leaders are thinking about surviving in the opposition and connecting with people to rebuild. This is a short-term challenge.

For the long haul, we have to build for the general election and think about how to rebuild.

The short-term situation is basically a parliamentary contest where every parliament day is a challenge for the prime minister because he only has 114 MPs supporting him. This number, however, is meaningless until it is tested in parliament.

He may have 114 but on any particular day in parliament, when there are five unhappy people who decide not to show up, he will lose his bills and the budget. That is provided we hold whatever we have together in a disciplined manner. That is something we have to manage in the short term.

What I hope is that people will come to realise that the country is more important and focus on the agenda. But we don’t know what the prime minister’s agenda is.

If his agenda is to uphold the fight against corruption then PH should support it. We should support whatever good is done for the country provided it is done properly.

Muhyiddin has to come back and state his agenda and ask if we support it. If it’s an anti-corruption agenda, we are all for it. We will support seeing people who stole from the country get justice wholeheartedly.

I hope that the whole tussle is agenda based… the parliament tussle is not just about bringing down Muhyiddin but what he is offering the nation.

TMI: Do you think PH can win GE15?

Liew: It is possible because there is no more DAP to blame. Previously, our opponents were blaming DAP for all the problems in the country. To the Malays, they said the government was run by DAP and to the non-Malays, they blamed DAP for being silent and kowtow-ing to Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Today, there’s no more DAP to blame as it is purportedly a Malay or Islamic government. So, all problems in the country can no longer be attributable to DAP.

But learning from what has happened, we will need to have a clear centre and a clear identity and policy premises, including a clear economic framework to distinguish ourselves from Perikatan Nasional. – April 26, 2020.