AN oft-heard phrase in Malaysian politics is that “there’s no permanent friends or enemies”, only permanent self-preservation.

Malaysians are by and large sick and tired of being taken for fools as political alliances shift while double-speak and hypocrisy become the norm in the corridors of power.

Yesterday (May 26) Malaysians were presented with the prospect of yet another high-level political treason as Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin called for a truce in a defamation suit filed by the former against the latter.

They both shared on their respective social media, a joint statement expressing their desire to end the legal dispute following the court’s advice.

Both political leaders cited the nation’s current situation concerning the people’s welfare as a consideration for the settlement.

If this were a dispute between two lesser mortals, nobody would have batted an eyelid. But the fact that the duo went to the extent of publicising the settlement and posting it on their social media barely minutes apart indicates a political choreography of the highest order was at play.

Safety net

Besides, hardly anyone remembers the nature of the suit - nor the progress - much less a reminder from the learned judge for both parties to call for a truce. For the record, Zahid has sued Muhyiddin after the latter (in 2022) alleged that the DPM had tried using a shortcut to postpone and settle his court cases.

And what has two individuals settling a civil suit has got to do with “people’s welfare” unless the statement was deliberately crafted to spark speculations of a possible coming together of two political giants “for the sake of the people”.

For the duo, the olive branch extended to each other goes beyond saving legal fees and time. With over a century of political experience between the two of them, they know yesterday’s (April 26) optics was a warning sign to their adversaries and so-called allies.

For Zahid who is under intense pressure to release incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak from jail - and for working with Chinese-centric DAP - it was a subtle way of showing that Barisan Nasional’s (BN) 31 MPs could swing either way.

Henceforth, yesterday’s show-of-strength may even gain him some concession in getting Najib to be put under house arrest which Zahid had in an affidavit insisted was a decision by the Pardon’s Board in January.

For Muhyiddin, the optics of him being able to come to the negotiating table with Zahid is a warning sign to the ex-PM’s adversaries that Perikatan Nasional (PN) is still within striking distance of Putrajaya despite the unity government having more than two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

So, is a PN-BN/UMNO alliance in the works? For now, it is too early to tell but yesterday’s joint-statement has already set in motion such a possibility in a country where shifting alliances has become our political mainstay. - April 27, 2024

https://focusmalaysia.my/muhyiddin-zahid-legal-truce-is-pn-bn-alliance-in-the-works/