EVEN before Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim could gather the number to prove his majority, there were attempts to by-pass him.

There were even talks of the Opposition making a deal with former prime minister (PM) Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. However, this did not materialise.

In the end, Anwar failed to prove his majority as he could only muster the support of about 105 MPs.

Datuk Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was the winner with a razor thin majority of 114 MPs, hardly a number to instil confidence in the country.

Still, the question of who will be Malaysia’s next PM has been settled. Ismail will become the country’s ninth PM.

So what is going to be the political fate of Anwar? Within the Opposition, there are some who are not happy with Anwar for not having gained the support.

Despite his earlier attempts to get the support of some Umno MPs, he has definitely failed miserably.

I really wonder why he would pin his hopes on Umno to get the numbers despite their dissatisfaction with Muhyiddin who is also the leader of Bersatu.

Even before last year’s budget, Anwar counted on Umno to defeat the budget, but Umno did not deliver what was promised to him.

The question before the Opposition is simply this: Can Anwar – despite his non-delivery of the much needed support – be counted to provide the much needed leadership in the future?

Can Anwar continue to head the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition to face the next general election? Can PH form the next Federal Government?

Is Anwar a liability or an asset to the opposition front of PH? Either way, I for one, hope that Anwar will make it in becoming a PM one day.

Not an easy job

On the hindsight, I really wonder if he could have provided the much leadership to clear the country of the present mess, which was largely brought about by the PN Government.

With the raging COVID-19 pandemic, it would take a superhuman in the form of a PM to put the country on a steady path.

This is not to mention the dismal state of the economy brought about by the pandemic. I believe it would require two full terms to clear the mess before the well-being of the country could even be seen.

Let us wait and see whether Ismail Sabri is capable of providing the leadership to address both the health and economic problems.

I don’t think he can achieve that miracle, certainly not with the cabinet he is going to inherit. In fact, he was one of the individuals who must be held responsible for not addressing the pandemic issue better.

Coming back to Anwar, I know he is not perfect. He must be held responsible for some of the strategic and tactical errors in the past.

He should not have “counted the chicken before the eggs hatched”. Even now, his actions do not make much sense such as why he trusted some of the Umno leaders for support, especially the court cluster.

Former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammed might think that Anwar lost because he lost the support. It is easy to say this now, especially coming from a person who refused to hand over the post to Anwar while he was the PM under the PH Government.

It’s true that Dr Mahathir’s Pejuang may have supported Anwar, but it is a bit too late.

Stop blame game

Rather than to “cry over spilled milk” the Opposition must seriously engage in brainstorming regarding future plans.

More importantly, to strategise about winning the next general election, who can be trusted and what kind of alliances need to be forged. No leader is indispensable; and Anwar is not indispensable.

But Anwar cannot be shunned just because he could not get the numbers to become the PM.

There must be critical appraisal by the Opposition to ascertain what really went wrong and why numbers were not there.

Simply blaming Anwar for the political defeat might not be the wise thing to do. PH component parties must address the question of future leadership with the view to face the next general election.

This is not the time for witch-hunting or putting the blame on one or two leaders. As far as I am concerned, Anwar is still the leader of the Opposition.

Even if PH could not get the few extra votes, the difference with the PN Government was small. It was not that PH under Anwar sank to the ocean bottom. Far from it.

Anwar might have his detractors – but let us not forget that without him, the Opposition may not be in the position to be in the running for an alternative government. – Aug 21, 2021

Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also deputy chief minister II of Penang.

https://focusmalaysia.my/without-anwar-malaysia-doesnt-have-an-alternative-government/