PN reluctant to sign MoU due to ambitions to topple govt, says analyst

National Council of Professors fellow Azmi Hassan says PN is not willing to wait three years until the next general election to win federal power.

(FMT) – An analyst claims that Perikatan Nasional (PN) might be reluctant to agree to the draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the provision of constituency funds to opposition MPs as the coalition still hopes to topple Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration.

National Council of Professors fellow Azmi Hassan said PN would no longer be able to question the legitimacy and majority enjoyed by Anwar if they agreed to the terms offered by the unity government.

“When they express support (for the MoU), they can no longer raise issues such as legitimacy or lack of majority, whether outside Parliament or in debates,” he told FMT.

“That’s what makes it difficult, because from what I see, the opposition’s main goal now is to bring down the government.

“They want to replace the government so they can become the government. It’s too long for PN to wait three and a half years (until the next general election), so they are willing to forgo the allocation.”

On Thursday, FMT reported that PN was expected to reject the draft MoU as it disagreed with some of its contents and conditions, according to a source.

The source said a unanimous decision was reached at a meeting involving all opposition MPs held on Monday.

The source added that opposition leaders were dissatisfied with several conditions and obligations set out in the draft MoU, especially on the equality of all races and individuals.

The source claimed that one of the 13 conditions required PN to acknowledge that all Malaysians are equally entitled to all rights and freedoms under the Federal Constitution regardless of race or religion.

They have also been asked to declare that all citizens are entitled to equal protection under the law and against any form of discrimination or sedition.

Ketereh MP Khlir Nor confirmed that a meeting took place on Monday but refused to divulge any details or PN’s decision before it is announced officially.

The absence of a specified allocation amount and conditions prohibiting PN MPs from opposing or disrupting the federal government’s administrative processes or proceedings in the Dewan Rakyat on trivial grounds, was also questioned, according to the source

Another analyst, Syaza Shukri from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), said that the opposition’s reluctance to sign the MoU is not expected to affect the stability of Anwar’s administration, which currently has the support of 154 MPs.

However, she suggested that the opposition might raise the tempo of its attacks on the government as they would not have any “ties” with Putrajaya.

“PN is expected to continue opposing the government, as per its role being the opposition,” she said.

She added that the unity government should clearly state the amount each opposition MP would be allocated if it was truly sincere about providing opposition MPs with constituency funds.