MUHYIDDIN 'CHECKMATES' ANWAR? - BERSATU 'ROGUE' MPs RETURN TO HAUNT ANWAR WITH 6 BY-ELECTIONS - THAT COULD TRIGGER THE COLLAPSE OF HIS ENTIRE GOVT - AZALINA RUSHES TO TROT OUT THE FIXED-TERM PARLIAMENT ACT
Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!
KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - In surest sign embattled Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is feeling heat as six by-elections loom, potentially threatening to send him and his government packing before their term officially ends, his Law minister Azalina Othman has confirmed that a controversial proposal to pass a Fixed-Term Parliament Act is still on the cards.
Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, whose Bersatu party leads the main PN opposition bloc, had sprung a surprise over the weekend when he revealed that six 'rogue' MPs from his party would be asked to declare if they still supported Anwar. If they did, then Bersatu would carry out an amendment tabled over the weekend to sack them, paving the way for by-elections.
"If by-elections materialize, then I believe the majority opinion is that Muhyiddin has checkmated Anwar and the six will lose their seats to candidates nominated either by Bersatu or PAS (the other lynchpin party in the PN opposition bloc). It's not about losing just six seats or losing the support of six MPs, this could be the trigger for a domino reaction to oust Anwar," an analyst told Politics Now!
"Such a result would obviously make Anwar look foolish and he has no one but himself to blame for playing unhealthy politics that NGOs, civil society and even election watchdogs like Bersih had warned him not to. For Muhyiddin, it would be a big win after being forced to suffer the humiliation of watching his MPs being indirectly snatched by the Anwar regime. "
"This is why I still doubt that the by-elections will really happen and the majority expectation is for the Registrar of Societies, the Home Ministry or the Speaker to delay acting on the Bersatu amendment or throwing some spanner or other into the works. With all the machinery that comes with the power of incumbency at Anwar's disposal, the odds are still stacked against Muhyiddin. However he will still win - with Malay support and sympathy becoming stronger for Bersatu while public revulsion and loss of trust for Anwar will widen and deepen."
WOULD RoS OR SPEAKER ALLOW MUHYIDDIN TO 'CHECKMATE' ANWAR?
Six Bersatu MPs had in the past few months declared support for Anwar and his government. At the same time, they also declared loyalty to Bersatu, a deliberate contradiction so as to escape triggering the Anti-Hopping law that would require them to resign their seats should they quit their party.
The 'cheeky' move was embraced by Anwar and his regime, and the six have since been 'rewarded' with federal funding for their constituencies that Anwar had controversially denied to Opposition MPs. It forced the rather plodding Muhyiddin into action, finally amending the Bersatu constitution to automatically sack MPs who went against party line and declare their seats as vacant.
Previously, insiders were unimpressed with the amendment - arguing that the RoS was unlikely to give it retrospective effect, which meant that the six could get away with it - although putting a stop to future indirect party hopping such as theirs.
"But with Muhyiddin clarifying that retroactive permission was not necessary because the six would be asked again their position on Anwar once the amendment gets the RoS green light, the whole equation changes," said the analyst.
"Unfortunately the tools of government are often abused by those who want to cling to power. In past regimes, including during the Najib administration, the RoS thought nothing of changing white to black. One former head of RoS was even an Umno member. So even with all eyes on them, the RoS or the Speaker may put loyalty to those in power above professionalism and duty," the analyst added.
INDIRECTLY 'STEALING' MPs JUST AS POLITICALLY DESTABILIZING
On Monday, Law minister Azalina confirmed the legal affairs division in the Prime Minister’s Department was still conducting an in-depth study after engagement sessions with stakeholders and the public regarding the introduction of the act.
“The findings of this comprehensive study will be used for policy considerations by the Cabinet later,” FMT reported her as saying in a written reply on the Parliament’s website.
Azalina was responding to a question from RSN Rayer , Jelutong MP, on whether the government plans to enact an FTPA to prevent party-hopping. According to Rayer who is from DAP, a key party in Anwar's ruling coalition, an FTPA could prevent the undermining of political stability in Malaysia.
The justifications from Anwar's side have drawn ridicule, with the public as well as the Opposition against the FTPA on the grounds that it could lay the foundations for the transformation of Malaysia's democracy into an Anwar dictatorship or autocracy.
Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin was among the many who suggested that the Anti-Hopping Act be strengthened instead, and for the Speaker to not block any confidence votes against the PM so long as it was backed by letters from 15 to 20 MPs. So far, the Anwar regime has not responded to his call.
This would better boost the democratic and parliamentary process, Khairy had added.
Indeed, it would appear that Anwar's pressure on Opposition MPs by denying them federal allocations and tacit encouragement to 'rogue' MPs such as the Bersatu six to abuse the loopholes in the current anti-hopping law does a greater disservice to political stability, scaring off investors and the public at large that Malaysia's democracy was at threat, than any confidence votes taken in Parliament.
ABUSE OF POWER - TOXIC & INSECURE POLITICS
Even today, the Anwar regime is unable to shake off the growing public unhappiness it is growing more sycophantic and autocratic by the day - seeking to punish Bersatu MP Wan Saiful for allegedly accusing the narcissistic Anwar of abusing his power.
Corruption-tainted Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi, who is also the Umno president and one of Anwar's key allies, will propose for Wan Saiful to be suspended from Parliament for six months over a comment largely seen as innocuous.
“Corruption means abuse of power. And he who abuses his power meets with His Majesty every week before the Cabinet meeting,” Wan Saiful was alleged to have said in Parliament.
Bersatu leaders have yet to comment but according to some analysts, such moves reeking of vanity and self-pride are bound to backfire.
"It's like using a canon to shoot a pigeon. Wan Saiful today and just a few days ago, the blocking of Rafidah's Facebook post criticizing the 'discharging' of retirees and civil servants from the IJN (a government specialist hospital). Only those with pea brains or those who are very insecure would lunge out like this," a veteran political watcher told Politics Now! - referring to former senior minister Rafidah Aziz.
Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!
Politics Now!
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