|
So I think politically and strategically, it is not something that is justified or makes sense for him to make such an announcement. I’m not questioning that Anwar may not have the numbers. What I’m saying is why not now, if you have the numbers? Why wait until September? Radio Singapore International
Nine former leaders of Malaysia’s opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat or PKR have announced plans to rejoin UMNO.
This follows an earlier announcement by Ezam Mohd Nor, former political secretary to PKR leader, Anwar Ibrahim that he was rejoining UMNO.
Ezam said he was doing so because he liked Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi’s reform plans.
What effect will this party-hopping have on Malaysia’s political landscape?
A question Yvonne Gomez put to Kuala Lumpur-based political analyst, Khoo Kay Peng.
KKP: On the Ezam case, it’s not really party-hopping. I think the UMNO side played it up as if he hopped from PKR to UMNO. Ezam resigned from PKR two years ago and he has been involved in Gerak since then. He’s not been in the mainstream of PKR politics for a number of years now, so the shift from his old alliance back to UMNO again is not really that significant politically.
What about these reported nine ex-Keadilan leaders keen to join UMNO? What about them?
KKP: If you look at a number of them, including Annuar Shaari, the former divisional head of the youth division of Anwar’s constituency, they were already with Ezam since the Gerak days so I think it’s quite natural for Ezam to invite some of these people to join him. And I think Gerak will be dismantled so they need to find a new platform. So again, I don’t think it’s politically very significant. It will be significant if an elected representative from PKR were to move from PKR to UMNO and you see a shift of parliamentary representation in the division’s parliament. Then, I think it will be politically quite significant.
Speaking of that parliamentary representation, leader of PKR and former Deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim, was quite confident of enough defections to form the federal government. What becomes of his plan now?
KKP: Firstly, as a political pundit, I would question why he doesn’t do it now. I mean, what’s the significance of doing it in September? One reason is that when you indicate a period, you allow the other side to also do something to obstruct that move. So I think politically and strategically, it is not something that is justified or makes sense for him to make such an announcement. I’m not questioning that Anwar may not have the numbers. What I’m saying is why not now, if you have the numbers? Why wait until September?
Can you offer some reasons why these ex-Keadilan leaders are keen to join UMNO now?
KKP: It’s very obvious. I think a number of these Keadilan leaders, as I’ve mentioned just now, are aligned to Ezam. So when Ezam makes such a move as the leader of Gerak - the non-profit organization fighting corruption - into UMNO, it’s quite natural for his committee members to follow him, if they support him. For a number of years now, this faction had a fallout with some leaders of PKR so I think it’s also a calculated move for them to go into UMNO and I think the timing is quite crucial in the way I think it’s trying to build a positive vibration within the BN itself, especially with Abdullah Badawi being faced with a barrage of criticism.
Now, one person who hasn’t welcomed Mr Ezam with open arms is Muhyiddin Yassin, who is UMNO’s Vice-President. What is the reason behind his own apprehension about Ezam’s return to UMNO?
KKP: Definitely, people would question his return. Ezam says he’s attracted to the reform agenda, but then again, we have not seen any steps proposed by Gerak. So Muhyiddin Yassin would definitely be asking himself what the main reason is that spurred Ezam to join UMNO. So definitely there is a bit of apprehension.
 |
Special Reports 
