'GPS wants flexibility in choosing partners'
Published on: Friday, January 19, 2024
By:
FMT, Dineskumar Ragu
Gabungan Parti Sarawak, led by Abang Johari Openg, has distanced itself from a proposed bill to ensure that the federal government remains for a full term.
PETALING JAYA: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) has distanced itself from a proposed bill to ensure that the federal government remains for a full term as it doesn’t want to be tied down to any partner in Putrajaya, says a political analyst.
James Chin of the University of Tasmania said both of the ruling blocs in East Malaysia, GPS and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, wanted flexibility in terms of choosing which coalition to align themselves with in Peninsular Malaysia politics.
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“You always want flexibility because that allows you to negotiate among partners, right? If you think that (Prime Minister) Anwar (Ibrahim) is not doing his best, you’d try to find another (political) partner that would give you a better deal,” he said.
“If you have a fixed-term government, obviously you can’t negotiate with any side.”
Chin also said that Sarawak and Sabah “want political stability, but not too much of it” so that they could negotiate for concessions from the federal government, especially with regards to items from the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
He was commenting on Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg’s resistance to a proposed bill to ensure that the federal government remains for a full term. The GPS chairman said it would go against the principle of freedom of choice.
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Abang Johari was responding to a call by deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for a bill to prevent attempts at changing the government.
Last Saturday, the Barisan Nasional chairman said such a bill was crucial as it would allow an elected government to administer the nation without being threatened by its political enemies.
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On Tuesday, however, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim played down proposals for a Fixed-term Parliament Act, saying it was not a priority at the moment.
Commenting on Abang Johari’s opposition to the proposed law, Council of Professors fellow Jeniri Amir said the Sarawak premier was not concerned about losing flexibility in determining political alliances, but rather about the law’s long-term effect on democracy.
“This is because the act could be seen as restricting the chance to hold the government accountable and implement changes when needed,” he told FMT.
Jeniri noted that the proposed law would not be particularly advantageous or disadvantageous to GPS as it could already determine which coalition administered the country due to its “kingmaker role”.
Calls for a fixed-term Parliament arose in the wake of three changes of government since the 2018 general election.
In February 2020, the so-called Sheraton Move led to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, following the exit of several MPs from PKR and Bersatu, then a PH partner.
GPS had backed Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin as he went on to form the Perikatan Nasional-led government, and later Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob who formed a new government when Muhyiddin resigned in August 2021.
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