THE memorandum of understanding signed by the federal government and Pakatan Harapan (PH) yesterday is not an ironclad deal and will impact the opposition more in the event of a collapse when things go wrong, P. Ramasamy said.

He said that the opposition might have a hard time explaining to its supporters in the next general election if the government were to backtrack on the deal for any reason.

 “The problem here is not so much the opposition, but whether the government can deliver its promises.

“The question of Umno and PAS pulling the rug under the feet of Ismail Sabri Yaakob remains something real and ever present.

“Ismail might be committed, but what about forces within and without,” said the Penang deputy chief minister in a statement.

He added that PH faced many difficulties before inking the agreement.

“Even if the agreement fails, the ruling coalition has the government, but the opposition might face the wrath of its supporters,” said the DAP leader.

He said that it was not going to be easy for PH to play its oppositional role in the context of the agreement.

“The question is: How to delicately balance its role as an opposition and work with the government on critical areas?

“There is nothing in the MOU to explain or elaborate. Nothing is defined.

“But we have to wait and see how PH is going to carve out its role in a newly defined atmosphere,” he said.

Ramasamy added that the MOU might be timely and much needed to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and to revitalise the economy.

“I have no disagreement on this matter, although the question of trust remains.

“I am sure given the extraordinary circumstances the nation is in, it is not difficult to rationalise or justify the need for a confidence and supply agreement.”

Yesterday evening, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob signed the deal, called the MOU on Transformation and Political Stability, with PH, which was represented by PKR, DAP and Amanah leaders Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng and Mohamad Sabu.

The signing was held in Parliament and witnessed by Dewan Negara president Rais Yatim and Dewan Rakyat speaker Azhar Azizan Harun.

Ismail, in a statement on the MOU signing, said it covers six key areas:

– Strengthening the Covid-19 plan

– Institutional transformation

– Parliamentary reforms

– Judiciary independence

– Malaysia Agreement 1963

– Formation of a coordinating committee

Under the agreed deal, Parliament will not be dissolved before July 31, 2022.

The government has also promised to deliver three major reforms by the middle of next year, before the next or fifth session of Parliament.

These are the anti-party hopping law, the implementation of Undi18 and automatic voter registration, and to amend the Federal Constitution to limit the term of the prime minister to 10 years. – September 14, 2021.