Pakatan urged to demand share in power
BERSIH’s Wong Chin Huat urged Pakatan to disclose its current “game plan” so that its supporters could see what it intended to do beyond organising the protest rallies.
Lisa J. Ariffin, FMT
A Bersih leader has urged Pakatan Rakyat to seek power sharing with Barisan Nasional instead of continuing with mass rallies against alleged vote rigging in the recently concluded general election.
That would be the most viable way forward, said political scientist Wong Chin Huat, who sits in the Bersih steering committee.
Apart from that option, he added, the opposition alliance had only two other choices: continue to protest “in a constructive way” or “just forget about the struggle”.
“I don’t think either will work,” he said.
He urged Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim to “take an offensive move” to demand power sharing.
Noting that Barisan Nasional received only 47% of the popular vote in the May 5 polls, Wong commented that Najib Tun Razak was “a prime minister elected by the Election Commission” and Anwar a “PM elected by voters”.
“So I suggest for Anwar to lay it down clearly and say that he holds the majority. He should demand that Najib sit down and negotiate power-sharing via Parliament.”
While acknowledging that it was unlikely for Najib and Anwar to come to an agreement, he said he hoped Malaysians would realise that his proposal was viable and would allow Pakatan to contribute significantly in Parliament.
He envisaged a new arrangement in which Pakatan’s parliamentary voice would be more significant through membership in select committees and through changes in the parliamentary power structure, such as having one of its MPs sit as speaker or deputy speaker.
“Anwar would be working closely with Najib and every policy implemented by the government would have general consensus. There will be balance in governance.”
