Anwar must establish his legitimacy through a vote of confidence!

By P Ramakrishnan

Anwar will serve the nation with verve, dedication and devotion for the good of the country that was woefully lacking in some of the past leaders.

In a move to convince Perikatan Nasional, Anwar Ibrahim, the Prime Minister, had announced that when Parliament convenes on 19 December, the first item would be seeking a vote of confidence to prove he enjoyed support and legitimacy. This is the correct move. It is applauded by all Malaysians who respect the style and substance of parliamentary democracy.

At the moment, the majority that Anwar supposedly enjoys as stated by him is just a claim – it has not been established as a fact. There are doubters, especially the PN and its supporters, who think that this is an empty boast. The PN chairperson had claimed to have the support of 115 MPs. If true, that leaves 107 MPs for Anwar! Not even a simple majority.

Anwar’s claim of reaching the two-third majority may sound hollow to PN, especially because the parties from Sabah and Sarawak, after dithering at first and leaning towards PN later under pressure, decided to join the unity government after it was formed without them.

This is why the MPs from these states need to openly show their support in a formal vote of confidence. That would be binding and put a stop to the quibbling about numbers.

After this support is established, Anwar’s position will not only be legitimized, it will be strengthened beyond question and he will be free to do whatever is necessary to rescue this nation from the throes of the economy, from the ravages of poverty, from the dangers of disunity and from the threatened break-up of the nation.

It is not unknown for some past leaders to habitually claim being misquoted by the media when their statements subsequently draw adverse comments. So, let us just straighten the record to prevent later opposition claims of misquotation when it is convenient for their cause.

We are confident that Anwar will serve the nation with verve, dedication and devotion for the good of the country that was woefully lacking in some of the past leaders.

The views expressed are those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rebuilding Malaysia

First published in Aliran on 27 November 2022

P Ramakrishnan is the long-serving former president of Aliran who served three and a half decades on its executive committee, and has been with Aliran since its inception in 1977. Now an ordinary Aliran member, he continues to highlight issues of public interest to a larger audience.