"MUDA out, government loses two-thirds majority!" screamed the local headlines after its leader Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman announced that the youth-based party was ending its support for PM Anwar's government.
But the pull-out wasn't much of a shock as the young leader had been (rightly) quite critical of the government over the slow progress of its reform agenda.
The real shocker though was probably when he labelled the Democratic Action Party (DAP) a "lapdog". He also went on to call the PH component party "hypocrites", "power hungry" and “without principles”!
But was the unexpected outburst of anger by the young leader merely a sudden rush of blood to the head? Or maybe his frustration was justified after all?
In fact, just a few days earlier there was the bombshell that Umno president Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) for forty seven corruption-related charges. This was after the prosecution withdrew all the charges pending further investigation.
Later, of course PM Anwar appeared to defend the move by explaining that the decision was actually made by the outgoing Attorney General Tan Sri Idrus Harun and that he had no hand in it. Well, that might have been true but it would still be perceived as "governmental interference", wouldn't it? After all, doesn't the buck stops with the prime minister?
However, the DNAA did come with a caveat in that it was not an acquittal - meaning it wasn't the end of the case; here Zahid was merely let off the hook temporarily.
Conversely, had the Umno president been convicted and was forced to step down wouldn't that have triggered absolute mayhem in his party; with the anti-Zahid gang waiting to pounce and possibly "overthrow" its current leadership - maybe resulting in a "cold war" with PH? And wouldn't that be a prelude to an early demise of the unity government?
So given the high stakes, perhaps MUDA's withdrawal was a small price to pay for keeping the unity government intact?
At any rate, MUDA has always appeared to be an irritant to the major power players in PH; something which always manifested during seat distributions for general elections as was seen during the recent six state elections where they eventually decided to go solo.
The impression is that they always seem to be treated as an outsider but then, such is the harsh nature of politics. He may have branded DAP a lapdog but after all isn't politics a “dog eat dog" world?
Predictably, Syed Saddiq's decision to withdraw support also drew the ire of several DAP MPs including its firebrand MP for Jelutong, RSN Rayer. He claimed that MUDA's exit and the loss of the two-thirds majority would hurt efforts to carry out legal and political reforms that would require constitutional amendments.
Meanwhile another MP from PH, R Yuneswaran of PKR said that Syed Saddiq must vacate the Muar seat so that a by-election can be held there.
But what if he did (honorably) vacate the seat and in the ensuing by-election PN emerges as the winner? Wouldn't that be a massive blow to PM Anwar's unity government?
Meanwhile, another ex-DAP stalwart and the former MP for Bangi Prof Dr Ong Kian Ming lauded Syed Saddiq's move and viewed it as something positive. He pointed out that DAP would no longer have to support MUDA like what it had done in Muar in GE15 and the Puteri Wangsa state seat during the Johor state election in January 2022.
In other words Syed Saddiq and his party have to literally stand on its own two feet now! This of course can only make them politically more mature, independent and durable.
Anyway, the good thing is that at least his fledgling party has a head start with one representative in parliament and another one in a state assembly; thanks to PH. Or has he forgotten?
To be fair to him, in the aftermath of his party withdrawing support for the unity government, he did give his assurance that he will play his role as effective opposition immediately and that his party will continue to support the unity government in matters such as institutional reforms which require a two-thirds vote in the Dewan Rakyat.
Furthermore, he has also apparently distanced himself from his old mentor Dr Mahathir and revealed that he would rather move forward to focus on MUDA's "new politics" agenda rather than reminiscing on the past.
He added: "It's not easy but it's better for me to be alone than to abandon my principles." He also acknowledged that the decision is tough and that politically he may lose out.
Still, the question remains, was it the right move for MUDA to quit the unity government at this moment of time?
In a nation which tragically appears to be split into two by the “race and religion” conundrum; on one side PM Anwar's moderate, multiracial PH, struggling to win the trust of the majority Malay populace; and on the other side PN, with strong support from the Malay ethnic group and seemingly bent on setting up a strictly Malay-Muslim government.
Against this grim backdrop, where and how would MUDA fit in? Also, the intention may be noble, but in the political sense, will partnering with Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) give it the right platform to reach out to more voters and be the so-called third force?
For now, though he is still a MP and MUDA is privileged to have a voice - and an eloquent one at that - in parliament. Choosing to ignore realpolitik he can now boldly question the unity government if it backtracks on its promised institutional reforms - without having to be accountable to anyone. After all, he will now be seated on the opposition bench - with Hadi Awang, Azmin Ali and gang!
But what happens when GE16 comes knocking on the door in a few years time? It's too early to tell, but after having to literally start afresh, will he and MUDA emerge stronger, mature and politically wiser? More importantly, will they still feature in the minds of the electorate?
JK Joseph is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
