A unity and inclusive government — that is the dream of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdulah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
The King had faced the “losing trust towards the Prime Minister” twice. Changing Prime Minister means there will be changes towards the government and the cabinet, because the cabinet is appointed by the Prime Minister.
The King has repeated his opinion on Tuesday. When such situation happens, with any main political parties (in this context, Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) failed to achieve a simple majority, His Majesty gave time to both Prime Minister candidate to consult other parties alongside individuals that will join them to form a coalition government and unity government.
At this moment, Barisan Nasional (BN) is out of the equation because they have declared that they will move solo as an opposition, and will not support any of the parties.
Both PH and PN can make the effort to sit at one table and discuss between Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Tan Sri Muhyidin Yassin on how to form an inclusive government. Inclusive means also involve other parties that support them.
It is not impossible to do, granted, it is hard to swallow. And they should do it quickly by putting aside their egos and personal interest.
However, PN yesterday declined the offer. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in a press conference after his audience with the King said that his party was confident to have gained enough support, up to 115 seats; complete with statutory declarations (SD) that was submitted to the senior private secretary of the King.
Anwar on the other hand, who entered the door of the Palace after Muhyiddin, said otherwise. In fact, he is comfortable with the King’s suggestion for a unity government, despite claiming to have enough SDs. However, can he convince Muhyiddin to agree with him?
If a decision still could not be made, then it’s back to what was done by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong before, with each of the members of Parliament (MP) called to come to Istana Negara to state their opinion.
This began with 30 MPs from Barisan Nasional, who were ordered to have an audience, yesterday. After that, it is up to the leader of the other parties, to identify whom they support.
And what is Gabungan Parti Sarawak’s stance in this outstanding development? Abang Johari, when met by reporters at the headquarters of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB)’s office in Kuching on Tuesday stated that GPS was monitoring the situation in Putrajaya closely, just like the media statement, released by his office in the morning of the same day.
GPS said that they will prioritise the country’s importance and formation of the government that is stable and will consider the people’s interest instead of their personal interests.
One thing is for sure, the King is currently undergoing an important process for the country, and ensure that whoever will be appointed, he must ensure that this country is administered propeerly.
Of course he does not want this country to be run blindly, with members of the government always talking about politics and facing inner crisis, while the people are suffering.
Next year will be a challenging year because it is predicted that the world’s economy will face tough times.
That is why it is important for everyone to stay focussed on the current situation, rather than wallowing with political drama between the parties alongside the endless racial issues.
Let the political issues end here, and every party assists the government without any prejudice —- even the opposition, to become stable, clean and resilient. Because at the end of the day, we don’t want any of our people to not be able to put food on the table because of the endless political drama.
It is not clear whether this story will end in a short period of time, because the caretaker Prime Minister and his cabinet is still functional. And it is said that they will call for a special Dewan Rakyat sitting if the parliamentary situation is still up in the air, to ensure that a Mini Budget 2023 is approved, and to enable the public servant salary is paid in January of 2023.
