UPKO president Wilfred Madius Tangau has appealed to opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to form a shadow cabinet, saying  he’s ashamed Pakatan Harapan Plus had done little “to save Malaysia” from Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s “reckless politics”.

The Tuaran MP said the opposition must be a viable alternative to what he described as “Muhyiddin’s adventurism and misgovernance” when he recommended that the king impose an emergency yesterday.

“The emergency is an irresponsible and desperate act. By claiming business as usual and shutting down Parliament and preventing elections, the PM is not fighting Covid-19.

“He is assaulting democracy to save his job,” Tangau said in a statement.

PH Plus refers to the PH parties plus Sabah parties including Parti Warisan Sabah and Upko.

The emergency, Tangau added, will greatly damage the country’s economy by destroying market confidence and chasing away foreign and domestic investments.

He said PH Plus must be ready “to shoulder the responsibility to restore our economy when Muhyiddin’s adventurism and misgovernance cross the red line beyond what the Malaysian public and sober parliamentarians in the government can tolerate”.

“That day will surely come. We just don’t know how soon. But when it comes, PH Plus must be ready.

“I would like to say PH Plus is ready to save Malaysia but I would then be lying. The truth is PH Plus has wasted 10 months after the Sheraton Move.

“We did not have a shadow cabinet despite having about 40 ex-ministers and ex-deputy ministers. We could not even produce a shadow budget before November 6. I am ashamed.

“I can only offer my apologies to all Malaysians who feel let down.”

He now wants to make up for it with “two simple calls”.

The first is to plead with Anwar to get a shadow cabinet organised within a week, and immediately work out the opposition’s alternative policies on the pandemic and economy.

He appealed for Anwar to chair the PH Plus shadow cabinet’s first meeting next Wednesday via Zoom.

Tangau said there must be a change in their tact.

“It’s time we stop our repeated attacks on the backdoor government. Instead, we must work hard on offering better policies so we can walk in from the front door with a strong, formidable and convincing majority after the 15th General Election.”

The second was a call “to my parliamentary colleagues “Ahmad Jazlan, Nazri Aziz, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and “other old friends in Barisan Nasional (BN)” who have abandoned Muhyiddin to “join us in PH Plus to discuss alternative policies for post-Muhyiddin and post-PN Malaysia”.

“We have a duty to offer workable and broad-based policies for millions of suffering Malaysians,” Tangau added. – January 13, 2021.