Written by Wong Choon Mei, Politics Now!
KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - A third Member of Parliament from the Bersatu party led by former premier Muhyiddin Yassin has pledged support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's government, sending the opposition bench into crisis mode.
However, Muhyiddin is playing it cool as he continues to strike alliances with other former premiers Mahathir Mohamad and most recently, the disgraced 1MDB-tainted Najib Razak. Muhyiddin is also the head of the PN coalition, the main opposition pact which includes Pas, the most influential party in the country,
"No one of weight is saying for now what's going on because the top guns are keeping their cards really close to their chest. It could be an internal revolt within Bersatu as some faction leaders may feel they will be sidelined by Muhyiddin's moves with Najib and Mahathir," a political analyst told Politics Now!
Gua Musang MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim sprung a surprise late on Tuesday when he announced on Facebook he was "declaring full support" for Anwar's leadership with immediate effect.
With this, Bersatu has effectively but not technically 'lost' 3 MPs or 10% of the 30 seats it won in the 15th general election held late last year.
Mohd Azizi joins party mates Suhaili Abdul Rahman, the Labuan MP and Iskandar Dzulkarnain, the Kuala Kangsar MP, who like him have also insisted they remained loyal to Bersatu and had no intention to leave it - even as they pledged to back Anwar's government on key motions and issues raised in Parliament rather than their own party.
RED HERRINGS IN EXCHANGE FOR HYPOCRISY?
The de-facto defections have also sparked speculation they are a red herring to lure the narcissistic Anwar into a false sense of security. There have been ongoing rumors the opposition is biding their time to oust Anwar via statutory letters of support to be presented to the King signed by MPs, including from within Anwar's own government, such as ally Umno, the East-Malaysian-based GPS and GRS coalitions and Anwar's own PKR party.
Meanwhile, there is little Bersatu can do although Anwar has drawn sharp criticism for condoning the moves that make a mockery of the anti-hopping laws recently put in place. Calls of hypocrisy have rung out, as when he was the Opposition Leader, he had fought vociferously against such breaches, which are seen as thwarting the wishes of voters expressed at the ballot boxes,
Anwar has also been condemned for unethical politics as he has steadfastly refused to grant fair or equal funding to lawmakers in the opposition, He and his ruling coalition have been accused of using unfair tactics to "squeeze" and "blackmail" the opposition into such 'de-facto' defections - after Muhyiddin's opposition bloc refused to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to back him as PM until the end of his term in 2027.
However, when the PN and the previous Umno-BN governments were in power, they did the same to Anwar and his then opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition. It was only when Ismail Sabri took over from Muhyiddin as the PN's PM that Anwar and Pakatan agreed to back him and receive funding in return.
"Two wrongs don't make a right. I don't think anyone in the country admires or respects Anwar and Harapan for this type of politicking," said the analyst.
"He is supposed to take Malaysia forward by reforming all the rot that started with the first Mahathir administration and then continued by Umno-BN, and the PN. Now, after decades of fighting against such unfair practices, he himself is doing it. It's biggest joke and a real black mark on his legacy and administration. How are Anwar and Pakatan now better than the political crooks they used to call Dr M, Najib and Muhyiddin - it's a question Malaysians need to ask themselves."
IT'S THE SAME OLD PLAYING DIRTY TO STAY IN POWER
According to the anti-hopping law, by-elections can be called only if Muhyiddin sacks his trio of recalcitrant MPs. However, if Muhyiddin did so, he might risk angering election-fatigued voters even more as there have been numerous elections since the 'six state elections' held in August and the nationwide general election in November last year.
There is also the risk that Bersatu might lose the seats in the fresh by-elections, so perhaps Muhyiddin might feel it's wiser that his party still 'owns' the three seats on paper - even though they are by any other name 'defections'.
Indeed, given Malaysia's extremely temperamental political scene where ethics are usually ignored, anything goes including the Bersatu trio doing a U-turn on their U-turn. Hence there is some backlash against Anwar and unexpectedly, some sympathy for Muhyiddin.
"Anwar came to power pledging change. All these years, this is what differentiated him, DAP and Amanah from Umno-BN, Bersatu and Pas. Now look at them - they were given a chance but they are moving Malaysia around in circles and in a backward direction. It's the typical modus operandi of the previous autocratic and corrupt regimes - to cling to power at any cost," a veteran political watcher told Politics Now!
TROJAN HORSES LAUGH ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK
So far, Bersatu has slapped on tough suspensions against the first two MPs and stripped them of their party posts and perks. The Labuan MP was suspended for 6 years and the Kuala Kangsar MP 4 years. There is little doubt that Gua Musang's Azizi will face the same sort of treatment.
A cynical view is that none of the trio are likely to care about their 'punishment'. Not only are they said to be looking forward to receiving from their millions in funding from Anwar, they can also sit pretty until the 'next development' happens in Malaysia's never quiet political scene.
"Whether he realizes it or not, Anwar has created a new category and job title for MPs - the 'Trojan horse'. Our MPs will continue to pull this type of stunts so long as there are things like political bribery still around and Anwar does what he used to condemn the previous leaders of doing," said the veteran observer.
"These Trojan horses will sit inside Anwar's camp and help themselves to all the money while waiting for the call from Muhyiddin or even from other rivals wishing to oust Anwar. If the signal never comes, it doesn't matter because they still laugh all the way to the bank until the next general election. Again the real losers are the people - instead of a cleaned-up Malaysia, they get an even dirtier one."
Written by Wong Choon Mei, Politics Now!
Politics Now!
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