ADUN SPEAKS | A litmus test for the unity govt

ADUN SPEAKS | The unity government’s solidarity convention in Kuala Lumpur today is to showcase that the government will last the full term or maybe beyond.

The government in power, a coalition of coalitions and political parties, has a majority of 148 parliamentary seats.

The partners in the grand coalition came together to thwart the political ascendancy of Perikatan Nasional (PN).

After a brief period of jockeying for power, Harapan was able to form a coalition government with BN, political blocs in Sabah, Sarawak, and others.

What was thought impossible was achieved.

PN, with its dubious affidavits of political support, could not stop the grand coalition headed by Anwar Ibrahim, who became the tenth prime minister of Malaysia, a position that eluded him for a long time.

The government has been in power for six months, with elections in six states coming soon.

In a way, the solidarity convention today is taking stock of what has transpired in the past six months, the achievements and problems.

The ultimate litmus test for the government is whether or not it can show Malaysians that it means business, can ride the challenge of the state elections, and still inspire confidence in Malaysians that the government, despite the different political ideologies, is here to stay for at least one full term.

It will be certainly a bonus that it can last beyond the full term.

The Anwar factor

It is plainly wrong to say that since the former governments of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin Yassin, and Ismail Sabri Yaakob did not last too long, the current administration would not last either. The same thing cannot be said of the present government under the leadership of Anwar.

The coalition government might superficially appear to be unstable, but Anwar - the glue - seems to be holding the government together.

It is just not about the personality of Anwar, but the general good feeling that the prime minister is doing the right thing.

His move against corruption, bringing in more foreign investments, his pursuit of inclusivity, and ultimately his notion of what constitutes good governance have sown the seeds of stability and political longevity.

The detractors might not give the government much time, but Anwar’s popularity is on the rise.

The government is not perfect, but certainly, it does not take rocket science to realise that the present government is relatively much better than the previous ones that were entrapped in racial and religious extremism.

The unity government, despite internal differences, seems to be an inclusive government.

A recent survey conducted in Penang suggests that the government of Anwar has a good measure of support.

But PN’s challenge cannot be ruled out from undermining the administration. They are not resting on their laurels, just waiting for the opportunity to bring down the government.

The signing of the Malay Proclamation initiated by Mahathir is just another attempt to bring down Anwar’s government.

The feeling of confidence in the convention does not mean that political, economic, and social challenges can be swept under the carpet.

P RAMASAMY is the Perai assemblyperson and Penang deputy chief minister II.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.