THOSE who do not wish to see the Umno court cluster returning to power, including the party’s leaders, should work out a set of democratic rules to ensure stability, DAP’s Liew Chin Tong said.

The Perling assemblyman said there is no use for Pakatan Harapan (PH) to dwell on whether it should work with Perikatan Nasional (PN) as it gets the opposition nowhere.

“Who says Umno is sure to form the next government? What is more important now is for all political forces to work against the court cluster, including Umno leaders who do not want to see the return of Najib (Najib Razak) and Zahid (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi),” he said.

“They should work out a set of democratic rules that would be upheld regardless of the political fluidity, to ensure fair elections and fair processes governing the formation of government on election night if no single party has an outright majority.”

The former deputy defence minister said in a statement that in order to stop the Umno court cluster from making a comeback, no one should pander the group’s “get out of jail” agenda  by allowing a general election to happen.

“All political actors must find a way to foil the court cluster’s schedule,” he said.

“We are now in a situation where no one is fully dominating. For instance, Umno’s arch rival Bersatu holds the powerful Home Ministry portfolio. While the court cluster may want to be the dominant party like before 2008, Umno doesn’t have the command of all state apparatus anymore.”

“Thus, a free and fair election is not just a concern for the opposition but all players including Bersatu, PAS, GPS, GRS and many others.”

Liew stressed that that now is not the time to talk about who should contest which seats in the general election, but about how to use the remaining time of this parliamentary term to set rules.

“(Instead) all Malaysians who do not want the court cluster to make a comeback should talk to each other and work on a common agenda to strengthen Malaysian democracy,” he said.

The DAP lawmaker said he is optimistic that the country could still be saved from the Umno court cluster.

“All is not lost. All political actors must realise that the nation could be plunged into further calamity if the court cluster leaders come back into power.”

“There is still hope that some kind of democratic rules, fair to all, could be formulated, and the unreformed and unrepentant Umno not be allowed to set the pace, tone and agenda for the rest of Malaysia,” he said.

Liew’s view today was previously expressed by DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke who shot down Amanah’s Salahuddin Ayub’s sentiment that PH should begin talks with PN.

“All parties in PH need to be aware that it is very difficult to cooperate with PN given the dark history we have gone through with PN component parties,” Loke said last week.

Salahuddin had said that PH leadership should be open to discussions for the 15th general election with Bersatu and PAS, which are PN parties.

The Amanah deputy president also cited the “big-tent” approach to unite opposition parties, saying this was the only way Umno and Barisan Nasional could be toppled.

The “dark history” Loke referred to was Bersatu’s pull-out from PH in the Sheraton Move in 2020, which caused the coalition to lose federal power.

DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng had also said that his party will not amend ties with Bersatu or PAS as the two parties cannot be trusted.

In an interview with Utusan Malaysia, the former DAP secretary-general said he would not meet Muhyiddin Yassin to discuss possible cooperation, as the Pagoh lawmaker masterminded the Sheraton Move, which resulted in the PH government’s collapse in 2020.

“I won’t agree if he wants to meet. We were stabbed in the back, and we shouldn’t be fooled again.” – April 24, 2022.