PETALING JAYA, Mar 3: A DAP leader has urged his Pakatan Harapan ally Amanah to move on from Dr Mahathir Mohamad and stick together, amid defections within the coalition.
Speaking to FMT, Johor DAP committee member Dr Boo Cheng Hau said although defections were not ideal, what was important was that everyone was still in PH.
This comes after three Amanah assemblymen in Johor quit the party and joined PKR, leading to some Amanah leaders calling for a review of ties with PKR.
Boo said he had been made to understand there were some in Amanah who still looked up to Mahathir rather than opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, and this had made others in the party uneasy.
Previously, PKR Youth secretary Syukri Razab had claimed that Amanah remained unsettled because some leaders chose to be friendly with Mahathir while being in PH.
“Anwar is our undisputed leader. We should follow his lead and stick to PH’s principles. We cannot have more than one horse pulling the PH cart or it’ll go in different directions,” said Boo.
“PH is about multiculturalism, we have to accept the fact that this is not what Tun Dr Mahathir wants and this was evident from his endorsement of the Malay Dignity Congress without consulting other PH leaders.”
Syed Arabi Idid of the International Islamic University of Malaysia, meanwhile, said party hopping within the coalition did not bode well for PH, particularly Amanah.
He said it made Amanah look weak and gave the impression that all was not well within the party.
“It can also lead to a dispute over seats as the incumbents may still want to defend their seats.
“PH needs to address this issue. They have to make their stand on party hopping within the coalition known.”
James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute said PH leaders must deal with this matter as it would lead to mistrust and could destroy the coalition.
“What PH should do, and it is common sense, is agree on policies and guidelines on what component parties can and cannot do.”
