The Malaysian Insight

PERIKATAN Nasional has failed to establish a stable government in the past year despite banking on its Malay-majority rhetoric, said Salahuddin Ayub.

The Pakatan Harapan vice-president said the PN pact did not even have to face criticism of being controlled by the Chinese-dominated DAP as had happened in the previous PH administration.

Salahuddin said this shows that good governance depended on integrity and good morals, not racial factors.

“It’s been a year since PN and Muafakat Nasional have been in control. What more do they want?

“Their government is 99.9 % Malay – from ministers to deputies, except for a fraction from MIC and MCA,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

With such a big number of Malays in the government, PN still failed to establish a stable government, said Salahuddin.

“There is still infighting among themselves and now people are questioning their integrity.”

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s year-old cabinet has 32 ministers, with one each from MCA and MIC. Bersatu has 11 ministers, Umno (9) and PAS (3), while the remaining four are from Sarawak and one from Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).

PN came to power on March 1, 2020 on the basis that it was a Malay government with the partnership of Bersatu, Umno and PAS, along with the support of parties from Sabah and Sarawak, MCA and MIC.

During PH’s 22-month tenure, the pact came under pressure for supposedly neglecting Malay rights and privileges, and accused of caving in to DAP’s demands.

Within a year, however, ties between Umno and Bersatu have broken, with the latter saying it would not stand with PN in the next elections.

Salahuddin, who is also Amanah’s deputy president, mocked PN over its failure to provide a united and good government.

“Now they should be united. There are no DAP or Chinese issues anymore. DAP is not there (in the cabinet).

“They (PN) have a large Malay majority and yet there is still infighting. There are issues between Umno and Bersatu. PAS also looks like it’s untrustworthy.”

Reality check

Salahuddin said PH should learn from PN’s lessons that having a Malay majority is not a guarantee of a government’s leadership and performance.

“As for now (in the PN government) there are no checks and balances. That is an issue that needs to be told to the people.

“There is no guarantee that having Malay majority will bring about a stable government. The emphasis of Malay, Chinese, Indian, or Iban governments must be established on the basis of integrity and good character.

“We will explain this to the people for the next general election.”

Salahuddin, however, admits that the reality in Malaysia is that it requires a government dominated by Malay leaders.

As such, he said that there must be good Malay leaders to govern.

“The reality is that Malaysia needs good Malay leaders. Meaning that they must have integrity and good leadership which is the strength of the country.

“Apart from that, we also need to uplift the other races, such as Chinese, Indians, Kadazan, Dusun, Dayak and others.

“This combination of races is critical. The other races understand this because there must be good Malay leadership that has integrity and good morals.”

Speaking about his own party Amanah, Salahuddin said the Islamist party must not only gain the support of the Malays but also other races.

“Amanah must be liked by other races. We must also focus on strengthening Malay issues while at the same time retaining the support of non-Malays.” – March 10, 2021.