Pakatan has lost the plot
The opposition has no direction without Anwar
Scott Ng, Free Malaysia Today
If the first week of Parliament’s current sitting was anything to go by, supporters of Malaysia’s opposition coalition are in for a rough ride from now on. The coalition has been accused of wasting time in Parliament by members of the ruling party and other critics.
It seems that without the leadership of Anwar Ibrahim, the three parties have no common agenda or, indeed, any intention to govern the country.
Anwar’s imprisonment plays a large role in why the opposition is suddenly ineffective. For one, Anwar is a focal point for the three parties, which are at loggerheads over certain differences in ideology. His absence has left a vacuum, and it seems like Pakatan doesn’t want to go into the important detail of who is to lead the coalition now that Anwar is indisposed.
Understandably, choosing a leader among the elite of the three parties would prove to be an exercise in frustration. A PAS leader would raise the suspicions of the liberals who support the coalition, given the dominance of the ulama faction in PAS right now. And Abdul Hadi Awang is certainly not the most popular name among Pakatan supporters right now, given his recalcitrance and unwillingness to work with PKR and DAP over the past year or so. The DAP cannot field some of its best names in the interest of political correctness, and PKR is in shambles with no clear-cut leader emerging from the numerous factions within the party.
In fact, the only credible name PKR can call upon right now is Nurul Izzah, whom Hadi certainly will not approve of on account of her gender and her youth.
Pakatan has chosen to move on without first dealing with the matter of a leader, and now will suffer the consequences. Without a leader, there is no focus on the important issues that need the full force of a united opposition behind it. Instead, we are stuck with an online petition for the US to make Anwar’s freedom the centrepiece of its policy on Malaysia and some brouhaha or other about farts and bald heads.
