[UPDATED] Don’t blame us if your govt collapses again: Hadi

KUALA LUMPUR – The opposition must not be blamed if the government collapses once again in similar fashion to the disintegration of the Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad-led Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in 2020, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang (Marang-PN) said today.

The PAS president instead suggested that such an event would be due to the government’s own flaws and weaknesses.

Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, Hadi noted how the previous PH government had sidelined Malay-majority constituencies now under Perikatan Nasional (PN) control during its time in power, although the situation changed when the latter coalition took over Putrajaya.

He said the rakyat had then offered its support for PN in protest against PH’s failure to fulfil promises made in its election manifesto.

“The success in changing the government was not through backdoor means, but because the roof was already leaking and the glass walls have shattered,” he said today when debating the Budget 2023.

“After the 15th general election, PH component parties did not have enough seats and were forced to cooperate with other smaller parties with diseases to ensure sufficient number in the government.

“If you fall again, don’t blame us. It’s not because we placed holes on the roof, but because it was leaking, the doors are ajar and the walls are collapsing.”

In February 2020, an internal power struggle led to Dr Mahathir’s resignation as the then prime minister and a week-long political crisis. 

Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was later appointed as prime minister after he led almost all his party’s lawmakers, as well as several from PKR, to form a new government with Umno and PAS.

Later, Bersatu and PAS formed the PN coalition.

Muhyiddin’s time in power was, however, short-lived, after he was forced to relinquish his post 17 months into his tenure after several Umno MPs withdrew their support for him. 

Earlier in his debate, Hadi had warned “parties that cooperated in a fragile state” not to simply resort to attacking opponents to cover up their own weaknesses. 

“This is because (your) glass walls make everything that happened inside visible, and they are easily shattered.”

Hadi said PH’s failure to secure civil servants’ votes should not be an excuse for the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim-led coalition to embark on revenge acts. 

He said credible politicians of integrity should execute justice for all quarters, regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation. 

The PAS lawmaker added that in a democracy, an opposition’s role after an election is to serve as an adviser to the government to ensure it is not full of itself to the point of being unaware of existing weaknesses. 

He also took particular issue with the government’s refusal to provide equal constituency funding for the opposition, saying this goes astray of Islamic and democratic principles. 

“In fact, it is so far from the teaching of Islam, which is the country’s official religion as prescribed in the federal constitution, and will severely tarnish its image.” – The Vibes, February 28, 2023