Focus on ending political manoeuvres, says Umno Youth man
Published on: Monday, January 15, 2024
By:
FMT, Elill Easwaran
Wan Agyl Wan Hassan says those who switch support for a prime minister may be doing so because of “something else”, and not on principle. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: An Umno leader has urged political leaders to deal with political manoeuvres aimed at changing the government by reforming the anti-hopping law.
Umno Youth permanent chairman Wan Agyl Wan Hassan said he understood the intention of party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in proposing a Fixed-term Parliament Act, which would ensure a government remains in office for a full five years after a general election.
ADVERTISEMENT
While Zahid’s intention was to ensure political stability, “at the end of the day, this is about political manoeuvring,” said Wan Agyl. “If you fail to manage the political part then you fail to ensure stability,” he said.
Zahid’s proposal had come in the wake of speculation about a so-called “Dubai Move” to change the government by engineering defections from the ruling unity coalition.
Wan Agyl said “an MP might be threatened or offered something in order for them to shift support. It’s not like they suddenly one day realise they want to support someone else (to be prime minister). This is not about principles, there’s something else,” he said.
Instead, he urged the government to review the anti-hopping law and plug loopholes, citing the decision by five MPs of the opposition Bersatu party to declare support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in November.
ADVERTISEMENT
The five MPs who backed Anwar did so without quitting their party, circumventing a provision that would have resulted in their seats being vacated and fresh elections called.
‘Stick to winning back Malay votes’
ADVERTISEMENT
An Umno grassroot leader from Johor said Zahid should not have been the one to make the proposal. He should have let other parties make the call, as Umno was “a rather small partner in the unity government” in terms of number of MPs.
“We should instead stick to working on how to ensure the Malays come back to Umno,” he told FMT.
Another Umno grassroot leader said Umno should not make it seem like the party is a close ally of PH. “The more we are perceived as being close to PH, the more the Malays won’t support us,” he said.
He said Zahid might be thinking of his own interests, but he should look into sustaining Umno and safeguarding its future, and not be making such statements.
Zahid has proposed a fixed-term Parliament to prevent any future attempts at changing governments, following the speculation about a “Dubai Move” to unseat the ruling unity coalition. Zahid said instability and changes in government in the middle of the parliamentary term were not good for the country.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
