[VIDEO] Anwar is also ex-Umno: Adly on PH embracing ‘frogs’ into fold

MELAKA – The two-time collapse of the Melaka government since the 2018 general election is widely attributed to “political frogs”.

In the recent Barisan Nasional (BN) led state government’s downfall, four assemblymen withdrew support for former chief minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali.

Despite warnings and calls for Pakatan Harapan (PH) not to embrace party-hoppers, the coalition took the stand that former Umno veterans Datuk Seri Idris Haron and Datuk Nor Azman Hassan were not “frogs” and fielded them under the coalition’s banner.

In an exclusive interview with The Vibes, Melaka PH chief Adly Zahari defended the coalition’s decision, saying Idris and Nor Azman were embraced into the fold after they were stripped of their Umno membership.

“When we took them in, they were not involved in any political parties, and as we know, the state assembly had been dissolved.

“In the spirit of PH, the reason given by Idris and Nor Azman who said that they have lost faith in the Melaka government’s leadership is in line with PH’s wishes. The issues that were brought up involved transparency, weakness in state governance and land reclamation.

“For us in PH, we are open (to accept them) but under one condition – it must be in line with PH’s practices and wishes,” said the chief minister hopeful, reiterating opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s previous statement on the issue.

Adly added that Anwar himself was once an Umno member.

Anwar was Umno’s deputy president before he was sacked by the party in September 1998.

“If we look at Malaysia’s political history, many leaders who are in PH were fired from Umno. And they became leaders who inspired the people.

“For instance, Anwar. Although he was in Umno and was eventually sacked, he became PKR’s leader.

“For me, Malaysians are able to accept (Idris and Nor Azman) based on this history.”

Announcement on Idris and Nor Azman contesting under the PH banner did not sit well with leaders in the alliance and had added tension within the opposition coalition.

Several top DAP leaders, including secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and national organising secretary Anthony Loke, have been steadfast in rejecting any of the four assemblymen.

However, Amanah’s Adly rubbished speculations of disunity among PH’s top echelons and cracks within the coalition that could potentially affect its cooperation.

“We are united, and we are used to taking in views from everyone. We do not forbid parties in the coalition from expressing their opinions. If you look at the way PH makes its decisions, we are united in deciding on our logo and distribution of seats, there is no overlapping.

“PH’s strength is not in our logo or cooperation but in our unity when making a decision,” he said.

PH open to work with other parties to form govt

Commenting on PH’s chances to garner a majority to form a new state government, Adly expressed confidence that the alliance will emerge as victor in the election on Saturday.

However, in the likelihood that there is a hung state assembly, PH is open to work with all parties to secure a sufficient majority in order to form a stable state administration.

“We are actually confident in securing a majority. Our focus is to stabilise the state’s politics for the future.

“Therefore, in our manifesto, in the event that we are given the mandate to rule the state, we will recognise all assemblymen regardless of their party and background.

“If all three coalitions are unable to individually get a majority to form the state government, PH is open to work with all parties, in the Melaka context,” he said.

For the record, any coalition must win 15 seats or more in order to form the state government on their own.

In the snap polls, PH is contesting in all 28 seats – with PKR fighting in 11 seats, Amanah gunning for nine and DAP going for eight seats.

On October 4, the state assembly was dissolved after four assemblymen withdrew their support for Sulaiman.

The Election Commission fixed November 20 for voting, with early voting on November 16. Nominations were held on November 8. – The Vibes, November 19, 2021