KUALA LUMPUR – When opposition leader and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dropped the bombshell that he has the numbers to form a new government, he was on stage with only his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and party secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Conspicuously absent from the press conference were leaders of DAP and Amanah – Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) allies.
Adding to this, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng later said he was only informed by Anwar about the takeover plan moments before the announcement, and did not expect it to involve Umno lawmakers.
Political observers say Anwar’s move to act in silo in garnering parliamentarian support, without the knowledge and blessings of his PH partners, is not unusual.
James Chin, a professor at University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute, said it is critical for such manoeuvres to be done discreetly, especially as Anwar was working to gather MP support.
“It was never meant to go public. It is supposed to be an ‘underground’ process. Certainly, it is not something you want to announce to the world until you have the numbers.
“Otherwise, his political opponents will be able to take countermeasures. Any move like this must be fast and secretive, or else it will fail,” he told The Vibes yesterday.
It remains to be seen whether the negotiations behind the scenes was to ensure success or it was done because Anwar did not fully trust his allies.
Prior to that, Lim had proposed Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal as PH prime ministerial candidate if Anwar was unable to court sufficient support.
Anwar then responded, saying he had the numbers.
Presence of Umno MPs will not affect DAP, Amanah
Despite Umno’s possible participation, Universiti Utara Malaysia’s Prof Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani believes that DAP and Amanah would support Anwar, so long they return to federal power.
This would be the case even if it meant linking up with their long-time foes from Umno, he said.
“Lim, or other PH leaders for that matter, may say certain things in public, but we all know they will support Anwar.
“The fact that Umno may be joining will not change anything. If you look at PH, they too were formed after former Umno members defected to Bersatu.”
On claims by several Umno leaders that they were not willing to work with DAP, Azizuddin said: “Even the president (Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) has acknowledged that many party members will back Anwar. – The Vibes, September 25, 2020
