KUALA LUMPUR – Perikatan Nasional’s shaky position in Putrajaya, coupled with policy decisions to prolong its grip on power, may be at the expense of the nation’s interests, security and sovereignty, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
In a statement today, the opposition leader said the pace of mistakes, missteps and miscalculations by the PN government is accelerating.
“The absence of parliamentary oversight and accountability represents a clear and present danger to Malaysia’s sovereignty.
The foreign minister’s ‘elder brother’ comment on Friday may have set Malaysia’s China foreign policy back 25 years and undermined decades of hard work by seasoned Malaysian officers in Wisma Putra.”
The comment signals to the international community that Malaysia’s orientation as a neutral nation is changing under PN rule, he said.
“The foreign minister’s attempt to downplay his comment illustrates a lackadaisical understanding of diplomacy, strategy, Asean politics and China in the PN cabinet.
“Much of the world is aware that the PN government lacks a parliamentary majority. Our allies and adversaries alike, be they officials of states or corporations and businesses, may attempt to use PN’s weakness as an opportunity to extract benefits in their engagements with Malaysia.”
This can occur to the detriment of the country’s diplomatic standing and economy, and the well-being of the people, said the Port Dickson MP.
“This is why a prime minister who has lost the confidence of the majority is duty-bound in the Westminster system to resign and allow the constitutional process to proceed.
Instead, we have a prime minister hiding behind the emergency declaration and cutting deals left and right to cling to power.”
Anwar’s take on the issue comes after Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein clarified that his use of the term “big brother” was in reference to his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, and that it was a sign of respect.
In a series of tweets yesterday, Hishammuddin said he was only being respectful of the older and more senior Wang, and that the remark was not a sign of Malaysia’s weakness and submission to China. – The Vibes, April 4, 2021
