THE anti-Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim rallies that began last week are not expected to reverse the success of the earlier Barisan Nasional overthrow campaign, said veteran activist Hishamuddin Rais.
Even though faults were found with the current government and Anwar’s leadership, these were only raised by a few parties, he said.
Having been involved earlier in numerous street protests, Hishamuddin said one of the main reasons for the anticipated failure of the anti-Anwar rallies is the weakness of the opposition.
He added that the opposition had failed to take advantage of the issues being raised and were seen to be ineffective in parliament.
“Look at the first day of the ongoing parliament sitting. (PAS president) Abdul Hadi Awang was not there, (Bersatu president) Muhyiddin Yassin was not in the Dewan Rakyat,” he told The Malaysian Insight.
He also noted that PAS was absent from the Demi Negara rally last Saturday, which showed the ineffectiveness of that demonstration.
About 200 people had gathered at the rally, which was held outside the prime minister’s official residence in Putrajaya.
It called for Anwar to step down, and had eight demands, including a call to stop the price increase of RON95 petrol, address local rice shortages, and tackle unresolved matters resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
It also called on the government to address the rising cost of living, protect public healthcare staff, ensure fair wages, uphold freedom of speech, and maintain economic sovereignty.
Organisers vowed to gather a larger number of people in the next series of demonstrations, but Hishamuddin doubted that would happen without PAS’ participation.
Hishamuddin said PAS’ absence at the anti-Anwar rallies could be due to its supposed ongoing negotiations with the unity government on several demands.
“It is possible that they will join the unity government,” he said.
Last month, PKR information chief Fahmi Fadzil said PAS was in talks to join the unity government. This was dismissed, however, by PAS secretary general Takiyuddin Hassan.
Hishamuddin added that the Demi Negara campaign would not get as big as the Bersih rallies.
“To gather thousands of people like the Bersih rallies, it requires many organisations such as the Bar Association and the opposition political parties,” he said.
Hishamuddin defended the right of people to protest but said Anwar deserved to be given some leeway as he “is running the government in a bad economic situation”.
“The new government is inexperienced. It is unfortunate that Anwar became prime minister when the economy is in bad shape,” he said.
He added that Anwar was only now able to gradually fix the country’s internal problems but there were many external factors that were out of his control, such as global conflicts and world petroleum prices.
On Thursday, Hishamuddin was questioned and had his statement recorded by police over a blog post that raised questions about Anwar’s health.
His lawyers have slammed the investigation and urged the government to immediately drop the “outrageous” probe, which they labelled a “strong-arm tactic to intimidate Hishamuddin”.
They also questioned the need for investigations into criticisms against the PM. – July 6, 2024.
