BINTULU: The ‘Sheraton Move’ that gripped the nation late last month, leading to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government, had exposed the weakness, acrimonious disagreements, and untenable relationship within the PH coalition.
Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president Datuk Tiong King Sing added, “PH’s collapse had unfortunately also dragged the entire economy through the mud for the past two weeks.”
He said despite all that had happened, DAP has not uttered a single word of apology for their role in the failure of this sham of a coalition.
“True to character, DAP would rather heap the blame on others and look for scapegoats for their failure.
“In the interest of serving their respective political agenda, PH had fought the 14th General Election with a loss and hastily scraped together an alliance that had barely reached consensus,” he added.
The straw on the camel’s back, said Bintulu MP, came in the form of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s resignation as prime minister.
Subsequently, DAP went on to claim that others had wronged Tun M, and pleaded with him to stay on as PM but secretly rooting for PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim behind his back, Tiong said.
“They then turned their sights on Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), blaming them for not being onboard with their schemes,” he pointed out.
“I would like to ask DAP – if the situation today enabled you and PKR to join forces with newfound partners to form the government, wouldn’t that still be called a backdoor government?
“It is due to Tun M’s resignation that PH collapsed, and led to a necessary process to determine who commands the most support among the MPs.
“This is a government formed under a democratic system as enshrined in the Federal Constitution, the very same one that DAP claimed to have upheld in the past. How can they claim it is a backdoor government now?” questioned Tiong.
“Therefore, considering national interest and the wellbeing of the people, we have chosen the side that can bring order to the chaos.
“Don’t forget that the reason DAP would even make noise at this ‘backdoor government’ is because it happened to their own coalition.
“They thought their position was comfortably safe with 42 MPs.
“But it is an outrage now that the tide has turned against them. If they really had a stable majority as a government, why not stand firm and call for new elections when Tun M resigned?
“Under a democratic system, parties that cannot trust each other will inevitably collapse because alliances must have cooperation, compromise and consensus to survive,” explained Tiong in his press statement yesterday.
“As an MP, I will do the right thing and fight for the rights of all Malaysian communities to ensure the turnaround of the national economy to better days. I urge DAP to do the same in Parliament. Put aside your political differences and give your full support to me for the good of all.
“We need to keep in mind that an honest, service-oriented government-for-all that focuses on the people and commits to fixing the national economy, and regain international investor confidence will stand the test of time and comfortably remain in power,” he added.
