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LETTER | Last Thursday, the true colors of the head of the opposition, Anwar Ibrahim, were revealed. In a last minute instruction, he ordered all Pakatan Harapan MPs not to vote against the 2021 Budget at the policy stage in the Dewan Rakyat.
This was despite weeks of mounting pressure to defeat the budget and months in advance of toppling the government of Perikatan Nasional (PN) during this crucial vote. And when the critical moment appeared, what did the Harapan leaders do? They backed off!
Anwar has tried to justify Harapan’s decision by saying that the bloc did not want to change portions of the budget, which was crucial, especially for leaders fighting Covid-19. And Harapan didn’t want to go against the wishes of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong either.
But that was not the picture painted on Harapan supporters from the day Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz presented the budget on November 6. From the beginning, Harapan’s campaign focused on breaking the budget into pieces, whether to insist on the Special Affairs Department. (Jasa), withdrawals from the Provident Fund for Employees or alleged insufficient health funds to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
All the corrective actions taken by the government to adjust the budget were not enough. And opposition supporters licked Harapan’s nonsense, thinking that eight months of back-door Perikatan Nasional rule is enough and that the bloc should regain its rightful place in Putrajaya.
But timidly, Harapan not only backtracked but justified his decision with incoherent reasons. For example, if you didn’t want to go against Agong by voting against the budget, wouldn’t you if you reject the bill at committee stage?
Harapan supporters would not have blamed Anwar, Lim Guan Eng and Mohamad Sabu if the attempt failed. Given the composition of the Lower House, the vote could have swung in either direction. Furthermore, the PN had the advantage of being in government.
The road to Putrajaya is long and windy. It’s been 10 years since 2008, when BN first lost its traditional two-thirds majority at the polls to the eventual overthrow of the coalition in 2018. Even defeated last Thursday, we can always go back and fight again.
But voters are upset that Harapan, led by Anwar, didn’t even try out of principle, unlike Pejuang leaders like Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who stood his ground. Harapan has only given the Muhyiddin Yassin administration legitimacy. Anwar’s claim of a “strong and convincing” majority is just that: an unproven claim.
If we can’t even trust Harapan to get it right when they are out of government, I don’t see how we can bring them back to Putrajaya. Anwar at the helm, with his endless political theater, has only served to undermine Harapan’s remaining credibility.
At this rate, Harapan under Anwar is more of a drag than the glue that initially held the component parts together. If Harapan is determined to fight Putrajaya, he should now seriously consider getting rid of Anwar.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author / contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
