KUALA LUMPUR – The walkout staged by Perikatan Nasional (PN) lawmakers in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday showed that they lacked the preparation to take on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s explanation of Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s conditional discharge from his graft charges, several analysts said.
Senior fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, Azmi Hassan, said the opposition failed to seize the opportunity to debate the deputy prime minister’s dismissal not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA), although the debate was not scheduled as part of the 12th Malaysia Plan mid-term review.
He also expressed disappointment as the walkout demonstrated that the opposition had “no intelligent proposals”, since much of the prime minister’s explanation was a reiteration of points he had made earlier.
“To counter something is not that easy. You have to do a lot of homework, have a lot of knowledge on (the matter), and you need a strategy,” the strategist told Scoop.
“There is nothing new about (Anwar’s) explanation, it was already known before this. They could have prepared a counter-argument, but they did not.
“By walking out, I suppose they do not have the knowledge to argue with facts. I believe that is the opposition’s merit right now.”
Azmi said that he was anticipating the opposition’s counter-argument yesterday, but was instead met with an “anticlimactic” walkout.
Similarly, Universiti Malaya’s Awang Azman Awang Pawi said the walkout was an “unwise” move, giving the impression that the opposition lacked the facts to debate with the prime minister.
He added that the standoff seemed to be deliberately staged for political drama, and for the opposition to avoid being lambasted by Anwar.
“The opposition tried to avoid criticism from Anwar, as they had kept mum when hundreds of DNAA cases were issued under the PN administration,” he said.
“This bias is what the opposition attempted to hide, and to avoid facing Anwar who would openly confront them.”
Despite the insistence of the opposition, the analyst said that as prime minister, Anwar cannot intervene in judicial matters, which he said fits the concept of separation of powers in the running of the government.
Meanwhile, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Oh Ei Sun, speculated that PN staged the walkout thinking it could appeal to its current supporters, and possibly win over new ones.
He said the walkout was “mild” when compared to parliaments in other countries, adding that it was “unsurprising”, as Anwar’s response was a political move in itself.
“There is no such thing as fair play in politics, perhaps only smart plays,” he said.
“Anwar initially declined to have the DNAA brought up in parliament, and relented only after persistent public pressure. Therefore, it is unsurprisingly met with a political response.
“Walking out is but one political gesture, albeit an unconventional one. Better than throwing chairs like in some other parliaments, right?” he said.
Yesterday, opposition lawmakers staged a walkout from the Dewan Rakyat in apparent solidarity with Putrajaya MP Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin, after he was ejected for causing a ruckus.
This came after Anwar reminded the opposition that the attorney-general responsible for Zahid’s DNAA was appointed when PN was in power. – September 20, 2023