Anwar confident odd allies in national unity govt not obstacle to reforms
KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was confident of delivering on promised reforms despite the diverse composition of political parties in his national unity government.
In an interview with the Al Jazeera news outlet for a documentary titled “From Prison to Prime Minister: Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim”, he said this was because the same parties all shared the belief that Malaysia was desperately in need of reform.
“But what is essential is: do all of them (the parties making up the government) agree that this country will go to the dogs if we do not take up measures to effect change now? They agree,” he said, when asked whether his pledged reforms were still achievable with former rivals now on the same side.
He added that the parties were also unanimous on the need for good governance and to tackle endemic corruption in Malaysia.
“And then of course we adjust policies. I’m not a dictator. I’m a prime minister of a democratic country,” he said.
However, Tricia Yeoh, chief executive of public policy think-tank IDEAS, who was also featured in the documentary as a political observer, said the reforms would only be likely if Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition could at least maintain the status quo in the six state elections due soon.
“If they (PH) lose the states or even have their seat numbers slashed and eroded then it will be increasingly difficult for Anwar, I believe, to put forward the institutional reforms he intends to do,” she said.
The 15th general election held in November last year had resulted in an unprecedented hung parliament with none of the contesting coalitions gaining the simple majority needed to form the government.
Following five days of political uncertainty, PH and Barisan Nasional (BN) set aside a rivalry spanning decades to form the current national unity government, thwarting Perikatan Nasional’s bid for federal power.
