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KUALA LUMPUR – Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin has assured that Perikatan Nasional (PN) parliamentarians will provide constructive checks and balances on the basis of policies, without disturbing the government to bring it down via “back-door” means as has been speculated.
The PN secretary-general said the MPs will give support to good policies, while acting as the voice of the people to represent their expectations of what the government should achieve.
“I do not want to simply go against (the government), because I have been in the government before for quite a number of years,” he said, referring to the present federal administration led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman.
“I should understand how the government works. When it comes to policy, as long as the policy is good for the people of this country we should give our support.
“If I feel that the policy is not being managed properly I think I should voice out for the sake of the people of this country. That should be the way we position ourselves as opposition.”
Hamzah served as home minister in two successive governments that included PN from March 2020 till the general election in November last year.
Speaking to media personnel after appearing as guest speaker at a private gathering organised by the Concorde Club at Concorde Hotel here today, he stressed that what is important is economic and political stability.
The Concorde Club is an informal media group of local and foreign editors which meets regularly with political leaders and key policymakers. Previous speakers include PH’s Anwar, Rafizi Ramli, and Anthony Loke; Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir; and Muda’s Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
Meanwhile, when asked for remarks on Anwar’s performance as prime minister, Hamzah said it would not be fair to comment yet as the PKR president has been in power for less than two months thus far.
“Allow him to do (rule). He used to be a good deputy prime minister, a good finance minister (in the 1990s). That was then.
“Now it’s a different world. The world is facing a bigger economic problem… don’t disturb him on political issues.
“Just allow him to sit down and work on economic matters, stabilise the economy. People will be very happy and he can last even longer.
“But if he cannot do that, it will create political instability in this country,” Hamzah cautioned.
No Sheraton Move
Asked if there would be a move to overthrow the present government in similar fashion to the one that brought down the PH administration in February 2020, he rubbished such a notion.
He said it is untrue that the PH government had collapsed and PN took over at that time due to a so-called “Sheraton Move”.
He said the government ceased as then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned.
“I don’t understand why people talk of the Sheraton Move,” he said, in reference to the notion that Bersatu’s departure from PH and the subsequent political defections had led to the takeover of power.
Asked about whether PN will form a shadow cabinet, he referred to it as a “cluster” and said an announcement will be made after a coalition leadership meeting soon.
He also emphasised that the struggle of PN components PAS and Bersatu, who are also members of the Muafakat Nasional alliance, is for people of all races in Malaysia, be they Malay, Chinese, Indian, or others. – The Vibes, January 4, 2023