Commentary by Mustafa K. Anuar

IT is hardly surprising that Abdul Hadi Awang’s recent warning the unity government would soon collapse has prompted swift responses and caused anxiety among politicians and ordinary Malaysians.

After all, the ghastly prediction did not come from an unknown soothsayer. It originated from the PAS president who once proudly declared he was the one who masterminded the so-called Sheraton Move that brought about the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in 2020 and subsequently, political instability in the country.

The ousting of PH happened at a time when Malaysians were struggling to manage the onslaught of a menace they had never seen before, that is, the Covid-19 pandemic, which in turn gave rise to human miseries of various kinds.

What spooked some people was when Hadi said the role of the opposition is to topple the government of the day not only at a general election but also any time before the end of the current parliamentary term.

Concerned Malaysians should, therefore, not be faulted for having the impression that the opposition, particularly Perikatan Nasional (PN), is busily scheming for a Sheraton Move 2.0 instead of playing a constructive role in parliament.

This is despite the wish of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that there should not be another change of government, at least not before his term as king ends. Hadi retorted that the Agong’s decree did not prevent changes in a democratic country.

It appears that Hadi is obsessed with the idea of toppling the present government to the extent the wellbeing of ordinary Malaysians, particularly those in the M40 and B40 income categories, has been put on the back burner.

This is in the midst of many Malaysians having to struggle to put food on the table, what with the increasing costs of food and other essentials, repayments of housing and car loans, unemployment and under-employment, etc. And the poor are getting poorer.

As if this isn’t enough, some Malaysians have to wrestle with the dire consequences of recent floods, which have wrecked homes, properties, livelihoods, and even lives.

And yet, the Marang MP is defiant that PN has the right to plan to topple the government, and that no one could stop them.

The toppling of a legitimate government midstream would mean the democratic process would be scuttled and the democratic rights of Malaysians denied. 

This is because it would prevent the government of the day from achieving its planned objectives and carrying out its development projects and necessary reforms for the overall benefit of the nation, at least before its term expires. The aftermath of the Sheraton Move is a case in point.

Equally crippling a consequence is that the mandate of the people would have been robbed, rendering general elections an exercise in futility. In other words, why should people vote?

While PN may be justified to seek, for instance, equal funding allocations for all MPs, irrespective of their political affiliations, they are also expected to perform effectively for the benefit of their respective constituencies. It’s clearly not just a matter of getting more money.

The opposition should instead stick to its earlier promise to be an effective mechanism to keep the government in check for the collective benefit of the people.

To take a recent example, it should be the concern of not only civil societies but also the opposition regarding the action of Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to grant an exemption under the Societies Act 1966 for the no-contest motion for Umno’s top two posts in the upcoming party elections.

The opposition should obviously realise it is in the interest of transparency and integrity that any democratic government worth its salt should be made accountable.

The role of the opposition is also important especially at a time when the country is trying to get back on its feet in the face of an economic slowdown after the Covid-19 pandemic, uncertainties in global politics, particularly the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Cold War between the US and China, climate change, technological changes, among others.

Malaysians would be the losers if the country’s opposition was still unsure of its vital role in a democracy. – March 9, 2023.