THE nation has been going through various challenges in the past two years. Many Malaysians are of the opinion that Perikatan Nasional government has failed miserably in containing Covid-19.

Cases have gone up, the death toll has increased and a lockdown has not brought about the desired results except hardships and job losses.

There were also voices pleading for the opposition and the government to call a ceasefire and work together for the benefit of the rakyat.

Ultimately, due to losing his parliamentary majority, Muhyiddin Yassin resigned.

In the context of divergent views across the country, as stated above, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said he had numbers to form the government, creating a great expectation among supporters that there would be a change.

This has not been something new, the same tactics were used when Barisan Nasional lost its two third majority in the 2008 general election.

In all this manoeuvring, nothing concrete came out, and the latest inability to gain the required majority speaks volumes to the credibility of Anwar’s claims.

It has become imperative for Pakatan Harapan to sit down and reflect on its decisions, which seem to be poor and lacking strategic insights.

Is the coalition still dependent on a single leader who has closed the door on any emerging new leaders within his ranks?

DAP should reflect on why its supporters have high expectations, when in reality the foundational aspect of Malay polity is still conservative and the most DAP can expect in the current context is to work on common ground.

This could have brought about a dimension of bipartisan leadership, turning a new leaf of how DAP is perceived among its critics, what more in a pandemic.

This is why Tony Pua’s suggestion should have been taken seriously, since the next general election could be called next year.

Muhyiddin could have been made accountable if he had failed to deliver on the reforms he promised.

Yet, has this been torpedoed by Anwar’s ambitions to become prime minister? Has PH underestimated the support it had in Parliament?

We wait for the formation of the new government, which might offer an olive branch and perhaps more than the previous government.

However, it could be another face of the previous incompetent government.

In the meantime, it is critical for PH to take a discerning look within itself and examine the decisions it made with little foresight.

Has the opposition coalition brought an unreformed Umno and kleptocrats back to power? – August 21, 2021.

* Ronald Benjamin is secretary for the Association for Community and Dialogue.

* 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.