As some turn against Anwar, Mat Sabu says he'll remain steadfast
Amanah president Mohamad Sabu said he will defend his relationship with Anwar Ibrahim even though he was reportedly furious at the PKR president for manoeuvring during the second reading of Budget 2021 in the Dewan Rakyat.
Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, said it was difficult to part ways after struggling together for the same cause.
For the same reason, Mohamad...
Amanah president Mohamad Sabu said he will defend his relationship with Anwar Ibrahim even though he was reportedly furious at the PKR president for manoeuvring during the second reading of Budget 2021 in the Dewan Rakyat.
Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu (above), said it was difficult to part ways after struggling together for the same cause.
For the same reason, Mohamad said he also refused to give in to calls to abandon pro-tem Parti Pejuang Tanah Air chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad who is in conflict with Anwar.
"Our relationship in Pakatan Harapan, particularly with Anwar, is a long one. For 20 years, we have faced challenges together in our struggle.
"It must be defended. Everyone has weaknesses but they can be fixed. What is more important is unity and friendship.
"At the same time, we are always finding ways to make new friends and have fewer opponents. This is the attitude that we take," he said in a statement.
Likewise, Mohamad noted that the opposition had cooperated with Mahathir in the last general election to defeat a "kleptocratic government".
Harapan, and Mahathir who now leads an independent opposition bloc, drifted apart after the collapse of the Harapan federal government in late February.
Mahathir served as the prime minister of the Harapan government after winning in the 2018 general election with the promise that he will eventually hand over power to Anwar.
After the sudden collapse of his government, Mahathir blamed his lieutenant Muhyiddin Yassin and accused the new prime minister of betraying him.
However, some in the opposition, particularly in PKR, have also blamed Mahathir for not consulting Harapan during critical moments of the political upheaval.
The subsequent cold relationship between Anwar and Mahathir has been a stumbling block to a unified opposition.
The falling out has also caused cracks in Amanah as some within the party want the leadership to sever ties with Mahathir.
Despite that, Mohamad said as he had fought together with Mahathir against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, he also won't turn against the Langkawi MP.
"When there are calls advising that I leave Mahathir and attack him, I said 'no'.
"We had cooperated and stood on the same platform in fighting a powerful kleptocratic government," he said.
Mohamad said he had seen a long history of cooperation in the opposition, even when he was previously in PAS.
Mohamad said in the 1980s, he was initially reluctant to cooperate with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's (photo) Semangat 46, an Umno splinter party.
However, he worked hard to support the party after the PAS leadership at the time agreed to work with Semangat 46.
Likewise, Mohamad said he also supported the formation of Barisan Alternatif with Parti Keadilan Nasional in 1999.
Semangat 46 eventually dissolved and rejoined Umno while Parti Keadilan Nasional merged with Parti Rakyat Malaysia to become PKR.
Anwar is currently receiving brickbats after he told the opposition not to go for bloc voting during the second reading of Budget 2021 on Thursday.
This was despite Anwar claiming in September that Muhyiddin had lost his majority in the Dewan Rakyat and that he now commanded enough support to form the new government.
Bloc voting would have required votes in the Dewan Rakyat to be counted and by extension establish Muhyiddin's support level in the Dewan Rakyat as it was also a proxy confidence vote.
Anwar later claimed his decision not to have bloc voting was so the opposition won't appear to be blanketly objecting to Budget 2021 which included several additional aid initiatives for the people.
Instead, he said Harapan will put up a fight during the committee stage where the Dewan Rakyat will vote on the policy details by each ministry.
However, opposition sources have told Malaysiakini the move may have been because Anwar could not muster enough numbers to defeat Budget 2021 during the second reading on Thursday.
Mounting an attempt to defeat specific parts of Budget 2021 during the committee stage or third reading (final vote) would buy time for further negotiations.
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