By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, March 4: Political retaliation and squabbles may happen again in Malaysia following Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation into alleged misuse of funds involving Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) leaders.
The warning came from political analyst Dato Peter Minos who observed that tenuous political issues ‘do not seem to go away’ despite Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s effort to maintain political stability and governance.
“A public survey said 70 per cent of Malays in the Peninsula are not (siding) with the unity government for many reasons. If this is true, this is not a sweet music to Anwar.
“Some people see MACC going after Bersatu leaders as a political thing (like) hitting on opponents in the guise of the anti-corruption crusade. We would not know for sure.
“The opposition, Bersatu and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), do not like it and may do a retaliation and political squabbles once more. Additionally, the national economy may be aggravated as a result,” he said in a statement today.
He further said the people no longer want and are fed up of political problems in the country with the hope that the unity government under PM Anwar can run smoothly and in peace.
“From the end of the last 15th General Election (GE15) and the formation of the unity government, the mood was basically bringing back unity and stability to the nation, cut the political squabbles, unite the people and get the national economy up and running,” he added.
Minos’s statement came in conjunction with Anwar’s first 100 days as the 10th Malaysian prime minister.
He commented that the unity government was formed out of luck and political fatigue where Anwar managed to luckily rope in Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition despite United Malays National Organisation (Umno) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) being at serious odds for years, and Malaysians being fed up of the political crisis that plagued the nation for years.
He also noted that from day one of Anwar assuming office, the latter has promised to help the poor and reduce the rising cost of living, return some of Sabah and Sarawak powers under Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) within a month, and getting rid of corruption and abuse of power, among others.
To this, he pointed out that the Malaysian economy is still not moving much but argued that it is beyond the country’s control following its dependence on imports.
“On nepotism, Anwar’s daughter (former Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah) had to resign as senior financial and economic advisor to the PM after receiving heavy public criticism. That was a mistake but it was immediately corrected and the nepotism issue died down. Anwar did the right thing in the circumstance.
“Some looked with disfavour on why the PM is also the Finance Minister as it was not a very wise thing to do. But it is too early to tell or judge now. Give PM Anwar time to prove himself,” he explained.
On MA63, Minos hoped that the promises to Sabah and Sarawak would be fully kept.
“Deputy Prime Minister Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof is still working things out on the matter with regards to MA63. A promise made openly and publicly cannot be broken. Integrity is at stake here,” he emphasised. – DayakDaily
