By Petronella Felix
KUCHING: An academician believed that the ‘Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Political Stability and Transformation’ between the federal government and Opposition was a temporary agreement that would dissolve once the next general election comes.
Senior lecturer with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Dr Jamaie Hamil said that it was the first time ever in the history of Malaysia that such an MOU was officially and lawfully inked.
“Therefore, it has been criticised by non-involved Opposition parties such as Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) and Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan).
“However, I believe the Opposition will be free to campaign once the MOU dissolves, presumably during the 15th general election,” he said, adding that if there is a more stable and dominant party governs the country, such MOU would never happen again
Jamaie observed that ever since the country was struck by the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia’s politics have become unstable.
“We have shifted from PH to PN, and now we have a government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri — all within the pandemic period,” he said.
According to him, the agreement meant that there are essentially only two parties in the country, namely, the government side and the Opposition. The MOU, therefore, is crucial to keeping political truce between them.
“With this truce, the government’s focus will be on recovery from the pandemic and economic recovery.”
Jamaie said that unlike the previous administrations the government today must pay attention to and accept the views of the Opposition.
He recalled that in the past, the three former governments, namely, the Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) were strong coalitions that did not need to cooperate with others.
“Accepting ideas from the Opposition could mean that the federal government was so weak that it must be propped up by the other side.
“However, the MOU has been inked following the King’s advice in order to focus on the country’s economic recovery. In this instance the Opposition was sensible enough to put the country first,” said Jamaie.
