Amanah stands by “reformer” Anwar to lead PH, says Mujahid

(FMT) – Amanah vice-president Mujahid Yusof Rawa today said that the party stands by Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership of Pakatan Harapan because of his proven commitment towards reforms in Malaysia.

Mujahid said it is not the time to put pressure on the coalition. Instead, they need to support Anwar.

“I am confident that we will stand by him, not just because he is Anwar Ibrahim but because of the institutional reforms that he has been defending, and for which he was jailed for defending,” he said in a statement today.

Mujahid said that PH had been “betrayed” by PPBM when the party was part of the ruling federal coalition.

“Anyone who leads PH must have an unwavering commitment to the great agenda of institutional reforms,” he said. Anwar had led this great agenda and remained steadfast in defending the principles of reform along with Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

“When Tun (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) chaired PH, many of his own party, PPBM, failed to understand this big agenda and the result was a betrayal, to the great reform agenda and to the meaning of loyalty.

“It was they who chose to betray us, not us who drove them away!” he said.

Anwar has come under criticism from within opposition ranks in recent weeks after the failure of the opposition to vote down the PPBM-led federal government’s budget headed by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and doubts over his announcement of sufficient support to form a new government.

Last week, the head of Sabah’s Warisan party, Shafie Apdal, called for a change in the leadership of the opposition while on Thursday, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the coalition should reset its course and stop wooing “opportunistic” MPs to switch sides.

Mujahid made an oblique reference to the wooing of MPs. “Let it be that if you want to be friends with anyone, consult with each other first, to test whether those being wooed are with us in the great agenda that was once sabotaged by their own friends when we were together in government.”

“Negotiations will be held among us if any of us want to make friends with another party,” Mujahid said.

There have also been calls from within PH for the coalition to be disbanded as Anwar failed to apologise for instructing against a divisional vote on the 2021 budget in the Dewan Rakyat.