YOURSAY | ’There is just no viable alternative to the unity govt to save the country.’

Ismail Sabri foresees problems in Umno-DAP 'forced marriage'

Hmmm: I would take whatever former Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob says with a big spoonful of salt because he is an interested party.

From being an ex-prime minister to being sidelined in this government, I am sure he is hoping for his past glory days with Perikatan Nasional.

Unfortunately for him, with Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in charge, Umno will unlikely break up with Pakatan Harapan.

His position is safer with Harapan than with PN as both are fighting for the same Malay base. Look what happened to Umno in the 15th general election after a stint with PN in government.

PN strengthened itself so much at the expense of Umno. Umno will do well to curb PN's rise now. Which marriage does not have its share of problems and quarrels?

Some marriages last a lifetime even though the partners quarrel day and night.

The partners may feel comfortable with each other although there are a few minor irritants that will not derail a marriage.

Let us hope that the unity government can continue and last a few more general elections.

Man on the Silver Mountain: It is all up to them whether to make the marriage work or not. They have decided to marry, they have to work on the difficulties, and nobody thinks it will be smooth sailing.

There are good people in both parties who see the benefit of marriage and believe in it.

However, there are still people who cannot get out of the emotional trap of hatred for each other and still dwell on it.

Both parties should allow the voice of reason from people mature enough to form an alliance to become a stronghold for the benefit of the government and to discard the voices of complaint, quarrel, immaturity and selfish backbiting.

Otherwise, Ismail Sabri may well be right. Bersatu and DAP could not work with each other. PAS and DAP could not work with each other.

Can Umno work with DAP? Or vice versa? People can only give you so much tolerance but if you people are so stubborn, then people’s patience will just evaporate with frustration.

Undecided: Those opposed to the unity government like Ismail Sabri will try their best to put fear into Umno and DAP supporters because of a history of animosity between the two.

Trust is something that takes a long time to achieve. So far, the top leaders of Umno and Harapan have not spoken out strongly on former PM Najib Abdul Razak's pardon, which means they understand the need to be patient.

The lesser leaders can do their part to try and appease their respective supporters.

As one commentator pointed out, all those involved or who have an interest in Najib's criminal cases or pardon, have their agendas to pursue and play their part in this drama.

The main thing for supporters of the unity government is not to be affected by the noise as a pardon is not likely soon. There is just no viable alternative to the unity government to save the country.

BlueShark1548: Looks like Ismail Sabri and his clique still hope to join PN to form a Pan-Malay government. The moment Zahid weakens, Ismail Sabri and his friends would make the move to bring down the unity government.

Without the Borneo parties' support, they would fall short of a majority. We should appreciate Zahid's efforts at keeping the unity government and Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister, hopefully for its full term.

To maintain a stable government and implement some reforms, Zahid would have done what few prime ministers had done even though he is the deputy prime minister.

WhiteRabbit1700: The faster Umno stops demonising DAP and thinks positively of the multi-racial party, the better it is for the country.

Don't blame DAP for everything wrong in the country. Umno should take responsibility for causing political instability and allowing Najib’s corruption by being silent. DAP has contributed much to Malaysia and is a great ally.

I am Malaysian: Ismail Sabri should also ask - was the marriage between Umno and PN consensual? If consensual, why did it break up so fast and make you lose your job as prime minister? The truth is, Ismail Sabri doesn’t like DAP and the lack of a ministerial post.

Whether Ismail Sabri likes it or not, his short seat-warming stint as prime minister happened by chance, not by choice, as his lack of calibre showed up while in office.

WhitePony9855: Of course, there will be disagreements between Umno and DAP or, for that matter, PKR and Amanah, but if the leaders of all the parties looked at the bigger picture, these hiccups are not major issues.

As expected, those from the cabinet clusters who are inclined towards PN, will like to fan whatever bushfires into infernos. Not surprising.

IndigoToucan1627: It is indeed a "forced marriage". A marriage forced by Zahid's desperation to survive as Umno president and Anwar's desperation to be prime minister.

No doubt there are many in Umno on the sidelines - the likes of former Umno strongmen Annuar Musa, Khairy Jamaluddin, Hishammuddin Hussein and Noh Omar eagerly waiting for the marriage to fail so that they can get rid of Zahid and his gang.

But what choice is there? The alternative is Bersatu president Muhyddin Yassin as prime minister and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang as deputy prime minister. The marriage has to work by hook or by crook.

Will the integrity of our judicial system be compromised in the process? That is the question.

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