Malaysiakini:
Better for Harapan to be good opposition than back Dr M as PM - PKR veep
 |
Chang Lih Kang |
PKR has drawn up a set of “parameters” and intends to stand by them as it takes a stab at staging a counter-coup against Perikatan Nasional.
According to a top party leader, “starting afresh” without Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the premier is one of its key conditions.
In an online interview with Malaysiakini today, vice-president Chang Lih Kang (above) listed the three parameters - not having Mahathir at the helm, ensuring that MPs who crossover to the opposition bloc agree with its “reform agenda” and getting consensus among all three Harapan component parties before accepting these crossovers.
Elaborating, Chang contended that having PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister would allow Harapan a clean slate to implement reforms and win back popular support.
“We disagree (with having) Mahathir as PM not so much because we want our president (Anwar) to be the PM but we think if we are given one more chance to be in government again, there should be a fresh start.
“As we have seen in the 22 months of the Harapan government, there were a lot of problems and some mistakes. We were once very popular among the people after GE14 in 2018 but we were very hated in the Tanjong Piai by-election [...].
 |
The Tanjung Piai by-election outcome on 16 November 2019, a tsunamic disaster for Parti Pribumi's candidate Karmaine Sardini was a BIG slap in the face of Mahathir even from the Malay voters there MCA's Wee Jeck Seng won with a landslide majority of 15,086 votes, a HUGE embarrassment for boastful Kok-Tokking KHAT-aSS |
“So if we govern again, we should get rid of these problems and start afresh. And that’s why we should not ask Mahathir to be PM again for the third time otherwise we will be back at square one which is to be very hated by the voters,” he said.
Chang opined that allowing Mahathir six months at the helm before a power transition to Anwar was untenable especially during a health and economic crisis when stable leadership was needed.
I'll go once I've cleared Zakir Naik's problem with the Indian government |
“If we are given a chance to govern again, it will be a post-Covid-19 scenario and it will be a short period before GE15.
“I don’t see any rationale or justification for Mahathir to squander six months and then pass it to Anwar. And then Anwar will need to start again after six months. I think it’s not justifiable,” he said.
Rather be good opposition
PKR’s insistence for Anwar and rejection of Mahathir has proved to be a stumbling block for the opposition’s race against time to overthrow PN.
Its allies - DAP and Amanah - initially endorsed Anwar on condition that he could muster enough MPs to give them a majority.
After PKR missed its June 16 target, the parties now want the party to consider Mahathir as the PM candidate instead.
Mahathir’s allies have argued that he has the clout to win over East Malaysian MPs - an instrumental bloc.
Today, Chang said PKR was still “trying very hard” to execute the counter-coup as per its parameters and with Anwar as its one and only PM candidate.
However, should the plan fail, he would rather Harapan remain a “good opposition” than allowing Mahathir to helm the opposition bloc and be premier a third time.
“We will try our best but if we can’t get there, then we can’t get there. So be it. We just need to accept the fact that we don’t have the numbers,” he said.
“We have already set our parameters and we are abiding by it. We have decided no Mahathir, means no Mahathir as PM,” he added.
No rush, no timeframe
According to the Tanjong Malim MP, PKR has yet to “exhaust all avenues” in its pursuit to secure enough support.
As for what DAP and Amanah have claimed, Chang contended that it was “premature” to say Anwar had failed to convince Sarawakian MPs to back him as the PM.
“We are still talking to many people. The effort to overthrow the backdoor government is still ongoing,” he said.
He said PKR had no timeline for its talks nor was it “in a rush” but assured that Harapan would mount a counter-coup only once it had secured a “comfortable majority”.
To Chang, this meant anything more than 115 seats. Harapan presently has 106 seats while PN has 116 seats.
Asked whether PKR had tried convincing Mahathir to back Anwar as the PM candidate, Chang admitted that such efforts have failed thus far.
“But we will try again in the future. At the same time, we will try other means by approaching other blocs,” he said.
Only an idiot will believe that Mahathir will stick to being PM9 for 6 mths and handover to Anwar after that.
ReplyDeleteAnd MM wants to use that 6 mths to"show" Anwar how to manage a country???? What a joke!!!
exodus... movement of ja people... bob marley... Mr chang will be hearing a lot of the song in the coming days...
ReplyDeleteIf you think like a LOSER you will forever be a LOSER. In opposition.
ReplyDeleteScared just because a nonagenarian fooled you once you are afraid he will fool you again? First time he fooled you shame on him. Fool by him twice shame is on you. So by admitting this fear, PKR is admitting they are stupid.
The very people who are afraid of this Devil, Dennis Ignatius, Kin Quek, Thayaparan, TK Chua and KT etc are so full of fear and hatred for one senile nonagenarian that they have forgotten the bigger war, that is to gain power. A 95-year old fart is easy to deal with, especially when he has no party or friends.
ReplyDeleteAnd these very same people will be bitching and crying when Muhyiddin and PN rape, pillage and plunder our wealth, like Petronas and other GLCs, to ensure victory in GE15. The best hope to prevent this from happening is to use this Old Fart. This is polictics.
Politics is not for the faint hearted. Gain power first stupid, then a 95-year old senile fart can be easily dealt with.
PKR BOH LAM PHAR.....afraid of a 95-year old senile fart.
KT's favourite Financetwitter talks sense but of course KT will ignore, because of his singular hatred for Toonsie has blinded him and others of the bigger struggle.
ReplyDeleteDAP and Amanah leaders think with their brains first, then the heart, not the other way around. When you are full of hatred your brains get messed up.
QUOTE
Grab power first stupid - Here's why Perikatan Nasional Succeeded while Pakatan Harapan Failed.
If Mahathir Mohamad is a mole sent to break up the supposedly united and unbreakable Pakatan Harapan coalition, he has done a marvellous job. Heck, he should be given a medal for his stunning performance. He hasn’t even lifted a finger to put PKR, DAP and Amanah at loggerheads, but the 3 component parties have already shown signs of self-destruction.
The 94-year-old former prime minister does not have to put any effort to sow distrust among the 3 partners in the coalition. The issue of who should become the prime minister should Pakatan Harapan (PH) succeeded in unseating the backdoor Perikatan Nasional (PN) is enough to break their friendship of 20 years. The finger-pointing has been overwhelming
To make matters worse, there have been tonnes of contradicting stories and revelations from both PKR camp and DAP-Amanah camp. For example, the PKR camp has claimed PH’s meeting on May 30 had agreed to only 1 option – PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister. However, DAP-Amanah claimed otherwise – there were 2 options on the table.
Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir Mohamad - Who Will Be The New Prime Minister
Contrary to PKR’s version of the story, DAP-Amanah camp claimed that while they endorsed Anwar as prime minister during the May 30 meeting, it was also agreed that a fallback plan would be executed – Mahathir to become prime minister while Anwar becomes the deputy – if Anwar could not get the numbers to form the government. Obviously, someone was lying.
Did Anwar agree with the second option without any intention of honouring it because he was over-confident with Pakatan Harapan’s 91 votes? Or did DAP and Amanah decide to sacrifice Anwar because they were power-hungry after having tasted power for 22 months? Nevertheless, those who support the idea of returning Mahathir as the prime minister have been severely bashed.
They have forgotten that in politics, especially in the ugly game of UMNO-Malay politics, there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends – only permanent interests. They have also forgotten that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Therefore, it’s meaningless to argue with supporters of Anwar or supporters of Mahathir. Both have their own valid arguments.
....continued
...continued
ReplyDeleteBut being emotional, instead of pragmatic won’t return you to power. Throwing tantrums and threatening to quit Pakatan Harapan won’t return you to power. Insisting Anwar to become the prime minister, yet fails to swing Sabah and Sarawak to your side won’t return you to power. Arguing that without PKR, Mahathir too can’t become the prime minister won’t return you to power.
So, the argument is that if Anwar cannot become the prime minister, nobody – especially Mahathir – can become the PM. Let’s drown together if Mahathir refuses to convince Sabah (9 MPs) and Sarawak (18 MPs) to throw their support for Anwar. Interestingly, it was revealed that Anwar was only able to garner the maximum support of 96 MPs, including Mahathir and his 4 loyalists.
In essence, even with the entire force of 91 MPs of Pakatan Harapan (38 from PKR, 42 from DAP and 11 from Amanah) and Mahathir’s faction of 5 MPs solidly behind Anwar, the PKR president doesn’t have the numbers to become the 9th Prime Minister. Again, the untrustworthy Mahathir, who caused the collapse of Pakatan Harapan is bashed.
Azmin Ali and Anwar Ibrahim - Talking
That’s fine. The old fox deserves to be condemned. But why did Anwar meet privately with Prime Minister Muhyiddin in April, just a month after the backdoor PM stole his trophy? So, traitor Mahathir must be bashed but not traitor Muhyiddin? Yes, coming from the horse’s mouth, PKR chief whip Johari Abdul revealed that not only Anwar met with Muhyiddin, he had also met Hamzah Zainuddin.
In fact, Mr. Johari told all and sundry that his boss Anwar had met with practically every leader from the “other bloc” (referring to the backdoor Perikatan Nasional government) except crooked Najib Razak. This means Anwar had probably met with UMNO president Zahid Hamidi, PAS president Hadi Awang and even the despicable traitor from his own party – Azmin Ali.
Now we understood why DAP strategist, Liew Chin Tong, issued a warning just a day earlier against treating Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin as a potential ally. Hamzah, the Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism in the previous corrupt Barisan Nasional regime, is believed to be a mole planted by UMNO to overthrow the Pakatan Harapan ruling coalition.
.....continued
It is believed that Hamzah was on “shopping spree” in Sabah to overthrow Shafee Apdal state government. Exactly why Anwar found it worthwhile to meet with Hamzah, the same man who was on a mission to crush Shafee, the Chief Minister whose 9 MPs were supposed to help Anwar’s crusade to become the prime minister? Was Anwar planning to betray allies in the Pakatan Harapan?
ReplyDeleteIn the same breath, Johari also claimed that Mahathir had likewise met with leaders from the enemy camps such as traitor Azmin Ali and Islamist party PAS president Hadi Awang. It seems there could be another major shift in the political landscape. Mahathir appears to have a backup plan in the eventuality of PKR’s refusal to be part of the plan to topple Muhyiddin government.
Anwar Ibrahim might dump allies DAP and Amanah by switching sides to Muhyiddin’s camp, effectively embracing UMNO and PAS. At the same time, Azmin Ali and Hadi Awang might cross over to Mahathir’s camp due to the overly dominance of UMNO and the failure in seats negotiation among the three Malay political parties. But that will be another article for another day.
As the emotionally charged PH supporters continue slamming DAP and Amanah for supporting Mahathir as the prime ministerial candidate, perhaps it’s worthwhile for everyone to look back at what happened in March, less than 4 months ago. When Muhyiddin and Azmin plotted the coup against their own PH government, opposition UMNO and PAS were extremely delighted.
...continued
Muhyiddin’s Bersatu (minus Mahathir’s faction) only possessed 20 MPs. To add salt into injury, 13 of the 20 MPs were actually UMNO defectors. Even with Azmin’s 11 MPs who betrayed Anwar to join Muhyiddin, they have 31 MPs, less than Barisan Nasional’s 42 MPs (UMNO’s 39 MPs, MCA’s 2 MPs and MIC’s 1 MP). Yet, there was zero fighting about who will become the PM.
ReplyDeleteAs the opposition, UMNO and PAS knew the top priority was to grab power first. Everything else was secondary. Had UMNO president Zahid and Bersatu president Muhyiddin fought over who should become the prime minister, both will get nothing instead of something. Even PAS gets less than Sarawak-based GPS, despite both contributing the same 18 MPs to the backdoor government.
Now that the Pakatan Harapan is the Opposition, how are they any different than UMNO and PAS about 4 months ago? Without Mahathir’s influence to swing Sabah and Sarawak, PH’s 91 MPs are useless, the same way Muafakat Nasional (alliance of UMNO and PAS) would be if they had kept bragging about their combined 60 MPs. Should not Zahid become the PM instead of Muhyiddin?
Like it or not, only when you walk the corridors of power that you have access to precious resources to do what you like – good or bad. And that’s the brutal fact of politics, especially in Malaysia. Within 3 months in power, the Muhyiddin government has done so much damage, including releasing crooks and even returning the frozen RM192 million to UMNO.
Can’t PH think of something good that can be done even in the short period of 6 months? In truth, there’re so many things we can learn from the current backdoor government. For example, despite having only 60 MPs, UMNO and PAS have gotten lame duck PM Muhyiddin to do their dirty jobs. Why can’t PH’s 91 MPs control a 94-year-old man the same way Muhyiddin is being controlled?
We have seen how former PM Najib gave orders to Muhyiddin government to give what UMNO desires. However, during Mahathir’s 22 months of administration, Anwar had acted more like an errand boy than like an equal partner. Should not Pakatan Harapan bear at least some responsibility for allowing Mahathir a free hand at running down the coalition to the ground?
Of course, if Pakatan Harapan insists that their moral ground is higher than Perikatan Nasional or Mahathir, then they can wait for the next general election. If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. But based on the exposure from Johari about Anwar’s secret meetings with all the crooks and traitors from the “other bloc” (except Najib), can PKR claims to be morally superior?
And what does Anwar expect to achieve by running to Muhyiddin? Has Anwar been promised the deputy prime minister post if he pulls out his 38 MPs from Pakatan Harapan and pledges loyalty to the man who had stolen his crown? Does Anwar think Azmin Ali, Zahid Hamidi, Najib Razak and Hadi Awang will cheer and applaud his crowning as the PM-in-waiting?
Here’s a provocative question to the PKR party and its president – will Anwar Ibrahim accept his wife Wan Azizah instead as a candidate for prime minister since he could not handle Mahathir? After all, the previous Agong (King) had offered Wan Azizah the PM post after the 2018 General Election. Did not Anwar say he won’t mind if he could not become a PM?
UNQUOTE
funny, umno pas bersatu n pkr all dun wan conman, seem only dap got vacancy. i hv to agree with that 1mdb thief for the first time.
ReplyDeleteThe more they stir, the more the froth quickly bubble up....we just need to give it sometime for the bubbles to clear up to see the picture a little more clearer.
ReplyDeleteAre we any clearer now ?
Anwar is saying...you don't make me PM this round..NO DEAL...I don't care for the logic of E Malaysia not giving me the support to make the numbers. Logic can go to hell.
He had quietly gone to make deal/s, apparently, with the 'other side/s.
So what is all this bullshit about integrity, friendship, principles, being backstabbed, being victimized ?
Toldja....convoluted, backstabbing, dirty, prostituting politics are the forte of the Malays. Tak percaya lagi ? Hehehehe