Stop squabbling, focus on regaining federal govt, S’gor PKR Youth tells DAP wing

KUALA LUMPUR – Pakatan Harapan (PH) needs to stay the course of helping the opposition coalition regain control of Putrajaya and return the people's mandate instead of squabbling internally, said Selangor PKR Youth.
 
In troubling times of a pandemic, a recession and a political crisis, the wing's Selangor head, Najwan Halimi, said DAP Youth may have overreacted by demanding that opposition leader and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim publicly apologise or risk having DAP abandon ties with PKR.
 
For now, it is best to acknowledge the effort by Anwar to seek support and trust of the people, Najwan said.
 
"The PH presidential council has given such a mandate to Anwar, so it is best for all wings and party leaders to abide by this arrangement. It is good to have discipline within our organisation moving forward."
 
Najwan said that PH must acknowledge that wresting back control of the federal government, which was lost through betrayal, is no easy task.
 
"PH lost the government after 22 months and Anwar had not held any position in the cabinet. So, it is unfair that all the burden be placed on him when his hands and legs were tied from reacting initially."
 
Najwan said demands made by certain quarters are attempts to bully Anwar, despite that the latter's dedication towards consolidating the opposition and its allies.
 
Najwan urged DAP Youth and its national secretary, Eric Teh Hoong Keat, not to simply issue their own statements without referring to their respective leadership.
 
"Such miscommunication needs to be avoided in and out of Parliament, and we should not disregard discipline in the quest to assist our leadership in returning the mandate of the people and to regain control of the government."
 
Najwan appeared to be referring to a statement by Teh, who had called on Anwar to apologise to the people and his PH allies over his last-minute directive to opposition MPs that led to Budget 2021 being passed at the policy stage last Thursday.
 
Teh had added that, if Anwar failed to do so, DAP should consider parting ways with PKR and reshuffle the opposition bloc.
 
“Anwar has admitted that he ordered DAP and PKR to reject the bloc voting request for Budget 2021. So, he must take full responsibility and apologise for his mistake to PH supporters. He had the opportunity to rekindle the spirit of PH in Parliament, but he failed. This has caused a public relations crisis, shattered PH’s credibility, and extinguished the fire of reform among the people," Teh was reported as saying.
 
The Budget was passed at the policy stage through a voice vote after the opposition failed to get the 15 MPs required to stand up and trigger bloc voting. – The Vibes, November 28, 2020