Azalina says she expected more 'concrete' govt-Harapan MOU

Former deputy speaker Azalina Othman Said said she had expected something more “concrete” out of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the government and Pakatan Harapan.

In a webinar today, she directed her frustrations with the MOU at her fellow panellist Seremban MP Anthony Loke, who was part of Harapan’s negotiating team in the deal.

“You’re right, Anthony, with you and your team being the architect of the MOU, I expected something more concrete because that would really have been a different, mature platform for parliamentarians.

“Why is there no fixed structure? For me, when you talked about changes, especially on parliamentary reforms, I was so excited.

“I did not have to put my recall bill as a Private Member’s Bill, knowing that the government would already have an anti-hopping law, but when I checked the order paper (for this parliamentary session), there was no anti-hopping law. 

“So what ceasefire are we looking at, because there is no permanent seal,” she said, referencing Loke who had earlier described the MOU as a “political ceasefire”.

Among the reforms promised in the MOU was an anti-hopping law.

Azalina said the government should have put an Anti-Hopping Bill on the order paper, even if it was last on the list because at least it would show Putrajaya’s commitment in tabling it, if not in this session, maybe in the next.

She also questioned why the MOU was only signed by political blocs, as opposed to all the MPs, which would have been fairer.

In response, Loke explained that Harapan had put up many more demands during negotiations with the government.

“But in the process of negotiations, there were two parties to it. You cannot achieve everything in one go.

“Of course, there are some demands we put up that were not agreeable by the government side, but if we do not get 100 percent of what we ask for, do we break the deal?

“We are taking a more moderate approach. Our approach is, as long as we get minimum things agreed upon, then we are not calling off the deal, we will proceed,” said the DAP national organising secretary.

He reminded that the only obligation Harapan has from the MOU is to help the government pass Budget 2022, but with the caveat that Harapan must be involved in the process.

If there is anything they do not agree to in the budget draft, they can continue to negotiate to make amendments at the committee stage, he added.

“So, in the end, when we pass the budget, it is something both sides have agreed to… that is our only obligation on Harapan’s part.

“Is that tantamount to surrendering? I don’t think so. Right now, we are using our position as the opposition strategically to achieve certain goals we have not been able to achieve in the past,” he said.

Some have also questioned whether the deadline for the MOU is on July 31, 2022, as the duration of the MOU is said to last up till the next dissolution of Parliament and the government had agreed not to hold a general election before that date.

However, Loke said that is not the case, as the government has only promised not to hold a general election before July 31, 2022, but that does not mean Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob cannot decide to dissolve Parliament much later than that.

“There is nothing to stop them to drag on until the end of the term (to dissolve Parliament) and we are okay with it because we do not want to take away that power from him.

“This is not just a 10-month kind of MOU, it can be longer,” he added.

On Monday, the federal government and Harapan inked an agreement whereby the government promised to implement a slew of reforms and a time frame in return for Harapan agreeing to help pass Budget 2022 with some caveats.

Aside from Azalina and Loke, the panellists for today’s webinar titled “MOU - A Pathway to Transformation and Stability?” included de facto Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Sunway University professor of governance Wong Chin Huat.

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