KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — Two Barisan Nasional (BN) parliamentarians have dismissed naysayers that the new government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is unstable.
Jempol MP Datuk Shamsulkahar Mohd Deli said BN would not undermine a government that it was part of by means of another “Sheraton Move”, news portal Free Malaysia Today reported.
“We will not be involved in any manoeuvre.
“We abide by the King’s decree. We do not want more politicking. Our recent experience of having three prime ministers in four years is enough,” he told the news portal in a report published today.
The Negri Sembilan lawmaker was responding to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan’s recent claim that Anwar’s government is under constant threat of internal sabotage and is therefore unstable.
Shamsulkahar said that BN acknowledged that no single political party or bloc won the general election and that was the reason for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to call for a unity government.
He said the unity government must be allowed to focus on resolving issues affecting the economy and public wellbeing.
Similarly, BN’s Kota Tinggi MP Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin poured cold water on Wan Saiful’s claim, adding that such remarks from the latter did not surprise him.
“He is in the Opposition; so he [is likely] to make such remarks,” the Johor lawmaker was quoted as saying.
Wan Saiful claimed two days ago that the unity government that was led by Anwar, representing Pakatan Harapan (PH), was unstable and could be threatened at any time by BN.
The Tasek Gelugor MP likened the present government to that of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government under Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, which had to cede to a government made up of PN and BN ministers led by Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Anwar was appointed Malaysia’s 10th prime minister on November 24, nearly a week after the 15th general election resulted in a hung Parliament after his PH coalition received the support of BN and the Borneo bloc comprising Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.
He has yet to announce his Cabinet, though expectations are high that he will do so later today after his Perak visit.
The Sheraton Move was a political manoeuvre in February 2020 that saw the collapse of the PH government after a mass exodus of its Bersatu and some PKR lawmakers joined up with their rivals from PAS to form a new coalition later named PN.
The name came from the Petaling Jaya hotel where the MPs met and hatched their plot.
Led by Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the PN coalition took over government with the support of BN MPs.
