PRIME Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will be held hostage by his own coalition and the opposition parties in making policy decisions without bipartisan support, experts said today. 

They said Ismail, who is hanging on with a four-vote majority, must open the door to work with opposition parties to stabilise the government. 

Otherwise, there could be another back-door dealing that will lead to a change in government for the fourth time, they warned. 

“If Ismail goes forward with the vote of confidence, it buys him room and freedom to conduct government business without the threat that he may lose confidence at any moment,” constitutional expert Maha Balakrishnan said at an online forum hosted by electoral reform watchdog Bersih 2.0. 

“Otherwise, the opposition and backbenchers will put up a fight and Ismail will be held hostage for every bill and vote,” she said. 

Raja Ahmad Iskandar, communications director for the Research For Social Advancement Berhad, meanwhile said given that Ismail was facing multiple factions against him, he has to be creative in dealing with the different stakeholders. 

“He has multiple factions with or against him, he needs to deal with different stakeholders in different ways to pass his legislative agenda. 

“Bipartisan support will help him with political management, interest and threats that come from his own coalition. The turmoil from the government itself gives him the opportunity to work with other blocs,” he said. 

To that extent, Raja Ahmad recommended that Ismail adopted the seven offers put forth by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin. 

As his majority was put into question, Muhyiddin had proposed the introduction of bills to limit the term of the prime minister and to stop lawmakers from party-hopping in hopes of gaining support from the opposition. 

Other reforms he had proposed were to ensure balance in the composition of parliamentary select committees between ruling and opposition MPs to ensure check and balance, and to have half of all such committees chaired by members of the opposition. 

He also promised amendments to the relevant laws needed in order to facilitate Undi18, or the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18. 

He also pledged to increase the government’s Covid-19 spending by RM45 billion to RM110 billion, to suppress the epidemic, which remains out of control and to improve monetary aid to the people and businesses. 

Muhyiddin’s proposal was however swiftly rejected by the opposition, which then led to his resignation and the appointment of Ismail as the ninth prime minister who won the support of 114 MPs. 

Meanwhile, Bersih is calling for a confidence, supply and reform agreement (CSA) to avoid the prime minister from being held ransom for votes. 

“This is really one of the ways to stabilise and solve a lot of the issues we are having now. Our country has no appetite for another numbers game where the PM is held hostage for votes,” Bersih’s treasurer and lawyer Ngeow Chow Yiing said. 

“We propose the CSA where the opposition parties vouch that they will not vote the government down in the vote of confidence and supply bill but in exchange there has to be reform. 

“This is where bipartisanship can come in. If this is implemented, we can stabilise and Ismail doesn’t have to be held hostage by his own party,” she added. 

She also called on opposition parties to seize this opportunity to work with the government and put the stability of the country above party interest. – September 8, 2021.