Trust between Anwar, Zahid at all-time low, says KJ

Trust between Anwar, Zahid at all-time low, says KJ

2 hours ago

Dineskumar Ragu

Former minister says the BN-PN alliance for the Negeri Sembilan polls created a 'massive rupture' between BN and PH.

Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the question now is how long BN, led by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, will continue to support Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.

PETALING JAYA:

Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin believes that trust between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his deputy Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has hit its lowest point since the formation of the unity government in 2022.

In the latest episode of his Keluar Sekejap podcast, the former health minister said Barisan Nasional’s decision to join forces with Perikatan Nasional for the Negeri Sembilan polls created a “massive rupture” between BN and Pakatan Harapan.

The BN-PN alliance won 25 seats in the state election, while PH won the remaining 11 seats.

“PH will say it was a betrayal. BN will say that, well, we just agreed to work with you at the federal level. It doesn’t mean we are tied with you forever. Whichever way you want to look at it, there was a massive rupture,” said Khairy.

He said the question now was how long BN would continue to support the unity government, and that the timing of the next general election was “heavily dependent” on the coalition.

“I feel the government could survive even if all of BN’s MPs withdrew their support, although it would still be very precarious. And with the rebel MPs from PKR, and some MPs from Sabah interested in joining BN, you start seeing the numbers getting fewer and fewer. Perhaps the cards are really with Zahid,” he said.

Khairy was referring to Wong Chen’s recent resignation as Subang MP and his exit from PKR to join Bersama, which is led by former PKR leaders Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, as well as the presence of PKR’s Ampang and Petaling Jaya MPs Rodziah Ismail and Lee Chean Chung at Bersama’s launch in May.

He was also referring to speculation that independent Kudat MP Verdon Bahanda and his brother, Kota Marudu MP Wetrom Bahanda of Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat, would join BN.

KJ expects DAP to stay in govt, says some ‘love being ministers’

On a separate matter, Khairy said DAP might choose to stay in the government when some 4,000 delegates vote on Sunday on whether the party will leave the federal unity government before the end of its term.

Khairy said he believed DAP’s delegates wanted the party to stay in Putrajaya so it could demonstrate some progress in the remaining year of the current government’s term and provide stability to the Anwar-led government.

“If it leaves the government, DAP could sell it as a principled move, but they have done the political calculations and internal analysis. They have found that it is better to stay in the government and demonstrate some results during the remaining year.

“They also fear that if they leave the government, it will affect the government’s stability even if they are still in support of Anwar as prime minister,” he said.

He also took aim at DAP leaders who “love being ministers”, saying this would be another reason for the party to stay in government.

“I will be direct. Some have not cared from the start about ministerial positions, but some DAP leaders love being ministers.

“You can tell by how they walk around, how they pose… I mean, it’s so obvious that you just love being ministers. You don’t want to give up the perks of being a minister after three years,” he said.