YOURSAY | 'It must rise to the occasion, unite the opposition and be an inclusive coalition.'

Upko president pleads with Anwar to form shadow cabinet

Sarawakian: I disagree with Upko president Wilfred Madius Tangau. At this point of time, the issues of race, religion and populist issues like loan moratoriums and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawals are at the forefront. Issues of good governance like forming a shadow cabinet will fall on deaf ears.

A titanic struggle is on for the soul of Umno, which will determine the fate of Malaysia. No coalition cobbled up by Pakatan Harapan without Umno will bring stability or peace to this country.

I used to think PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as a useless leader, with his head in the clouds, but recent events have changed my mind. I believe feverish negotiations are now taking place between the pragmatic moderate faction of Umno and Harapan, including DAP and Anwar.

The supreme council of Umno is paralysed and Umno may yet be torn asunder, divided between PAS and Bersatu. An Umno with its grassroots and voters absorbed into Bersatu and PAS would be an unmitigated disaster for Harapan and Malaysia.

I hated former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for their kleptocracy and abuse of power, but their transgressions will pale into insignificance compared to Perikatan Nasional (PN) once they achieve a massive electoral victory.

Now is the time for realpolitik. Everything must be on the table to form a unity government of Harapan and Umno. The messages of “No to kleptocrats” and “No to DAP and Anwar” must be put aside to save Malaysia.

Let the unity government be formed and let the few honest people left in Umno deal with their kleptocrats. Umno is desperate, their very survival is at stake. Now is the time for Harapan to be benevolent and help Umno survive and reform.

IndigoTrout2522: Harapan must rise to the occasion, unite the opposition and be an inclusive coalition. This is a good suggestion, even though some problems may be caused by MPs who may be left out of the shadow cabinet.

The first step is to set up a Harapan Plus presidential council that will make the final decision on who should be in the shadow cabinet. Harapan Plus will be more effective if it can convince the GPS coalition of Sarawak to join in.

It is also time for DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang to stop painting Umno as a kleptocracy party. There are good and bad apples in every party, including Umno. The next step is to recruit and promote the younger generation of leaders into decision-making positions.

This does not mean pushing the long-serving leaders aside. They should serve in advisory roles. Every party has young and professional leaders and they should step up for the good of the country. Having term limits should be considered.

Constitutional Supremacy: There’s a strong chance the 15th general election will be held late next year or only in 2023.

The prime minister announced that the emergency will last until we are ready for elections. Currently, it’s going to last until August.

The committee formed to advise on the Covid-19 situation will push for mass testing and if there is a high number of cases, of course, its advice will be that the situation is very bad and the emergency should be extended.

Wilfred, you have overlooked the above point. You also have overlooked the point below.

The prime minister is now heading a minority government. Thus, it is now upon the opposition to come up with at least 112 MPs and have an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for the appointment of an interim prime minister as the federal government still has another two years and five months to run.

Muhyiddin Yassin has no right to say that he will remain as prime minister until the next general election is held, which will be two years away. Thus, Harapan Plus’ priority should be to take over the government and have elections only in May 2023.

OrangeKijang1833: What shadow cabinet? We are not even sure if Anwar can be the next prime minister. He's useless; talk only but no action. A shadow cabinet should have been formed long ago after Harapan’s collapse.

He should have engaged with all Harapan Plus parties for the next course of action but did nothing except claiming he has the numbers. Nothing came out of that. Even the budget could not be defeated. It’s time for voters to give up on Anwar.

Gabbar Singh: Anwar is only interested in becoming the prime minister by whatever means. His willingness to work with the kleptocrats shows he is incapable of garnering grassroots Malay support.

Yet, we hear of Harapan looking to Anwar as the opposition leader when he has failed time and again. We have DAP leaders pussyfooting around this issue, unable to make a stand based on principles.

One of its leaders is constantly being charged for corruption. He says its malicious prosecution. He will in the future be spending more time in court than visiting his constituency to prepare for the next election. I say there is no smoke without a fire. Let’s wait for the trial. Due process will disclose the truth.

Amanah is the only party in Harapan that had the gumption to stand up during the Budget 2021 vote and stick to what they believe in. Sad to say, Amanah is not seeking to assume leadership in the coalition.

It’s time to look for someone else to lead but not Mahathir, please. Maybe it’s time for the East Malaysians in Harapan to show the way and lead. Hopefully, they are still there and have not hopped somewhere else. My hope is that we develop an anti-hopping vaccine to cure this hopping virus first.

The ball is at the feet of Harapan and my only concern is that they may score an own goal, yet again.

Et Cetera: To those who were complaining and saying Anwar was impatient to become prime minister when Mahathir was leading the Harapan federal government, you deserve the current government.

You knew full well that Mahathir was trying to form a unity government. So here’s your “unity” government. Now you feel hopeless. It’s ironic that even this situation now is tied to Anwar.

So, you have an emergency, do enjoy these next eight months. But use this time to think why you are so hell-bent on not seeing Anwar as PM?

OrangeFalcon9229: I truly believe Anwar will be a great prime minister but he seems to be going about it the wrong way. He needs to shape up or ship out. Anwar, sorry to say this but the rakyat are beginning to lose confidence in you.

You need to work closely with all your component parties in Harapan and come up with a solution with the sole interest of the rakyat as the top priority. Even if it means that you may not be the prime minister. Don’t go about doing things unilaterally and sidelining your fellow comrades.

You have always been the inspiration in the struggle for reforms in Malaysia. Be just that and history will not forget you. Don’t go down as a loser.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.