Loke sets opposition's conditions for ceasefire deal

INTERVIEW | After mooting a political ceasefire between Perikatan Nasional (PN) and the opposition, DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke Siew Fook highlighted several conditions before the opposition can accept any truce deal with Muhyiddin Yassin's government.

The first condition is that the prime minister must set up parliamentary select committees in the Dewan Rakyat to allow opposition lawmakers to play a meaningful role in providing checks and balances on the government.

"So far, none (of the committees) have been set up," he told Malaysiakini in an interview on Tuesday.

He also urged the government to keep the 10 select committees set up during the Pakatan Harapan era.

The parliamentary select committees focus on areas ranging from science and innovation, to trade and international relations, human rights, as well as gender equality. They also cover public appointments and government expenditure, among others.

Besides the dormant select committees, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), entrusted to look into the management of government entities is also crippled as the new government has failed to appoint a new chairperson and restructure the committee.

Loke also wants equal financial allocation for the opposition-held constituencies.

"Secondly, there must be (equal) access to the government's treatment in terms of constituency allocation. This is a long-standing issue since BN days," he said.

For the record, the opposition, whether during the BN, Harapan, or the current PN administration, constantly cried discrimination over constituency fundings.

During BN's era, the allocation for the opposition-held constituencies did not directly go to the MPs while Harapan allocated only RM100,000 for opposition areas compared to RM1.5 million for Harapan-held constituencies. 

It was reported that PN revived the RM100,000 allocation for the opposition lawmakers in March.

On Aug 16, Loke proposed that Muhyiddin hold talks with all political parties represented in the Dewan Rakyat to find a way to ensure political stability.

He said such a meeting would avoid the risky and expensive proposition of calling for a general election amid the pandemic. He added that political parties could always cooperate with the government without becoming part of the ruling coalition.

Loke said there was a sense of a political stalemate in the country with horse-trading by both sides and the opposition attempting to oust Muhyiddin via a bloc vote in the august House.

Two bloc vote attempts had been attempted by the opposition, one during the election of the new Dewan Rakyat speaker on July 13 and second during the vote for the Supply (Reallocation of Appropriated Expenditure) Bill 2020 on Aug 17. PN won with a slim majority in both events.

Focus on Covid-19

"The current scenario is not good for the country. It is not sending a healthy signal to the business and investors. The people, in general, are fed up and they don't want snap polls," said Loke.

As such, he said a truce was an option for Muhyiddin as he could then focus on tackling Covid-19 and the economic fallout due to the pandemic without worrying about political instability or having to dissolve the House - the worst-case scenario.

Loke pointed out that a ceasefire would also immediately relieve Muhyiddin of the risk of any more bloc voting called by the opposition at the Dewan Rakyat.

"Muhyiddin will not have to bow down to the pressure and threats by individual (government) MPs who want to threaten his government by not attending a Dewan Rakyat sitting.

"The major gain is that he can enjoy his position as the prime minister for the time being, at least for the remaining of his term," Loke noted.

Muhyiddin will also have the certainty that there would be no horse-trading by the opposition in an attempt to reclaim Putrajaya, he added.

Asked if he was in communication with Muhyiddin, Loke said he had discussed the ceasefire deal with two Bersatu ministers.

He reiterated that DAP and Harapan presidential councils would only discuss the matter after Muhyiddin called all parties to seek a solution to the political stalemate.

Loke also revealed that he had informally discussed the truce with DAP leaders and was in communication via text messages with party allies.

"I think we are free to give our opinions. At the end of the day, I think if there is a consensus, everyone should come together to discuss and consider it," he said.

He believes the opposition parties would put aside politics for now and assist the government to overcome the tough challenges ahead.

A political ceasefire or consensus could be reached if all parties were prepared to make concessions, he said.

"Look at the big picture, all quarters (should) prepare to make concessions instead of just wanting others to accept your (requests). If everyone has such a mentality, I think we could reach a consensus," said Loke.

However, a political ceasefire should not be seen as the opposition having forgiven or forgetting the "Sheraton Move", nor should it be seen as the opposition supporting Muhyiddin or PN.

The opposition will continue to criticise the government and play its role to keep it in check, he pledged.

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