KUALA LUMPUR – A grand coalition of non-Barisan Nasional (BN) parties led by Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is the best option to move the nation beyond the current political deadlock, Bersatu youth chief Senator Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal has said.
He said a pact between the Bersatu-led Perikatan Nasional (PN), opposition front Pakatan Harapan (PH) and other regional groupings like Gabungan Parti Sarawak would chart a new political future for the nation, though it can only be sustainable if it is led by a moderate Malay leader such as Muhyiddin.
Wan Fayhsal said it is vital for such a pact to give Bersatu the right to lead the government if it wins the coming national polls, as the majority of Bumiputeras – who account for over 60% of Malaysia’s 32 million population – are more likely to accept a party that embraces identity politics.
I think if PN, PH and others like Gabungan Parti Sarawak can get together, this will be the new Malaysia. However, Bersatu should lead, and the prime minister candidate has to be from our party,” he told The Vibes in a phone interview.
Last week, opposition parties dismissed Muhyiddin’s overtures to possibly establish a coalition to face BN and its lynchpin party Umno in the 15th general election after the former prime minister’s “betrayal” of the PH government during the infamous Sheraton Move in early 2020.
Muhyiddin assumed the premiership in the aftermath of the Sheraton Move, but resigned just over a year later due to continued pressure from both inside and outside PN.
Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob took over as prime minister last August, though Bersatu remains a part of the federal government.
Wan Fayhsal acknowledged that there is a risk of fractures and betrayals in their planned grand coalition, which is why all parties involved need to first sort out any major issues which exist between them and formalise the deal in a written agreement.
“Sacrifices have to be made by all of us. I don’t have the answer to every question yet as my party has yet to finalise discussions, but as a way forward, we have to look at the possibility of a grand coalition.
“I think there is a possibility. Why I say so? Because we have all tasted power, and we miss it.”
Anwar too liberal, Pejuang a Mahathir fan club
When asked if PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should instead be chosen as candidate for prime minister instead of Muhyiddin, Wan Fayhsal said the former’s political ideology and conduct do not fit with the majority of voters.
Wan Fayhsal also questioned Anwar’s leadership after PH suffered heavy losses in the recent string of state elections in Melaka, Sarawak and Johor.
Even when his party used its own logo, they still lost. It is not that he is no good as an opposition leader. It’s clear that he performs well in Parliament, for example. But he has given in too much to liberal politics.
“His political conduct doesn’t represent the voices of most Malaysians,” Wan Fayhsal said.
The Bersatu youth chief also dismissed Pejuang as nothing more than a fan club for its chairman, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Wan Fayhsal suggested that Pejuang be disbanded so that its members – made up mostly of his former party colleagues – can return to Bersatu, with the condition that Dr Mahathir is not allowed to go back to being chairman.
“All of us in Bersatu respect and love Tun, but we cannot agree to his persistence and demand to become the chairman. The ‘strongman’ politics cannot work anymore.
“In fact, from the very start of PH’s administration back in 2018, we knew Tun would never hand down the premiership to Anwar, and that the PH project was bound to fail.” – The Vibes, April 6, 2022
