Who’s the Boss?
Khairy Jamaluddin
I have long suspected that Pakatan Rakyat, beneath its superficial unity over the supposedly shared agenda of promoting justice and transparency, is really born out of political expediency and necessity to challenge the Barisan Nasional, and attempt to throw it out of Federal Government – a coalition of convenience.
Void of any central body to formulate, regulate and institutionalise internal Pakatan policies, they seem comfortable to function based on the lowest common denominator – their political disdain for the BN.
Apparent fundamental ideological incompatibilities have also planted doubts about the long term viability of this coalition. I have on occasion pointed out the mutually exclusive nature of PAS's Hudud agenda (which came up again among its rank and file during the current Muktamar) and DAP's vision of a secular state, for instance. That said, cracks have begun to show in the Pakatan camp that do not stem from any ideological differences.
Just yesterday, eight of the nine PKR's councillors of Seberang Perai boycotted the swearing-in ceremony of new president Mokthar Mohd Jait, a civil servant, despite PKR expecting a political appointee and having already decided to nominate newly-minted Penanti Assemblyman and Deputy Chief Minister Mansor Othman to the post. That PKR politicians brought themselves to boycott an official ceremony in Pakatan-ruled Pulau Pinang already spells trouble for Pakatan; but the PKR councillors will likely feel their sentiments justified since, as the PKR state whip himself mentioned, Chief Minister YAB Lim Guan Eng appears to be governing Pulau Pinang as a DAP state, and not a Pakatan coalition one. Ouch.
