KUALA LUMPUR – Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim’s call to cease politicking in Parliament was loud and clear, albeit brief, during his inaugural royal address in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, say political observers.
Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Prof Azmi Hassan has told Scoop that the King’s speech narrows the avenue for the opposition to challenge the support behind Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister.
He said that given Sultan Ibrahim’s unequivocal declaration against any attempt to overthrow the government, the opposition now had no choice but to propose a vote of no confidence or vice versa in Parliament.
“And today (February 27) would be a good time for the opposition to challenge support for Anwar.
“If the opposition is confident that Anwar has lost the majority support, then they should use Parliament to propose a vote of confidence or no confidence. After all, we do have such proceedings in Parliament for a reason.
“But I’m sure that the opposition would not dare to do so because Anwar has the numbers (enough votes to remain in government),” he said.
Azmi said that the opposition’s strategy of playing the “numbers game” by saying that Anwar had lost the majority of parliamentary support as prime minister would ultimately be a futile effort.
“The opposition has used the ‘numbers game’ to say that Anwar has lost confidence. However, this strategy does not yield any benefits, particularly for the rakyat or the nation, as it jeopardises foreign investors’ confidence in our country.
“In fact, I believe that the King is dissatisfied with the opposition for neglecting their role as the government’s check-and-balance, but they were busy playing this ‘mind game’ to show the government is unstable.
Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya political analyst Assoc Prof Awang Azman Awang Pawi stated that the King’s speech clearly indicated that he would not entertain any opposition attempt to topple the government.
“So, the opposition should realise that it is futile to play on sentiments to create a perception of political instability within the government. Instead, they should concentrate on the matter at hand – how to fulfil their role as the opposition and prioritise the nation’s development,” he added.
He also said that other aspects of the King’s speech indicated his active involvement and firm stance, making it clear that he would not tolerate any “hanky-panky”.
“The King’s speech underscores his dedication to the nation’s progress and emphasises the government’s role in prioritising development,” he added.
During his inaugural royal address at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, Sultan Ibrahim firmly stated that he would not entertain any efforts to destabilise the current unity government before the completion of its term.
He also said that the government should look into formulating a policy aimed at fostering unity and harmony among Malaysians, especially when the current generation still struggles to master Bahasa Malaysia and understand the culture of other races.
However, Prof Ulung Datuk Shamsul Amri Baharuddin said this could pose a challenge for the unity government.
“The King’s speech on unity and mastering the Malay language seems to signal a challenge to the government.
“The current government calls itself the unity government, but where is the unity? (So) this is what they still need to prove to the rakyat.
“Especially when it comes to getting the younger generation to master the national language, as the King’s hopes were conveyed in his speech.
“However… I don’t think that there is much that the government can do on this issue – unless the government comes up with strategies to overcome the issue of mastering the national language,” he told Scoop.
The key problem with learning the national language is that proficiency is restricted when it is taught as a subject instead of being used as the primary medium of instruction, said Shamsul, who chairs the National Council of Professors.
“If you have a subject being taught in the language, for example, in Malay, then your chances of mastering the language are much higher.
“This shows the vast difference in terms of the challenges posed to how the future generations will master the Malay language.
“So, at the moment, we have to live with the fact that the vernacular schools do not use Malay or the national language as their medium of instruction,” he said – February 27, 2024