Now’s not the time to abandon old guard, analysts tell opposition

[superadmin]

PETALING JAYA: Despite the obvious rift among Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders, a lack of credible replacements means that now is not the time for the old guard to step aside, say analysts. They believe that standing firm would give PH its best chance at forming the government again post-GE15.

The cracks in the coalition have begun to widen following the passing of the federal budget at the policy stage last month with Anwar Ibrahim instructing opposition MPs not to push for bloc voting only to reveal later that opposition stalwarts Lim Guan Eng and Mohamad Sabu had disagreed. The cracks first appeared after the resignation of then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, which led to a tussle for the vacant post.

More recently Warisan MPs openly expressed their dissatisfaction with Anwar by sitting out a budget vote on Monday, citing frustrations over his last-minute instructions, thus exposing the infighting within the opposition.

However, former Universiti Teknologi Malaysia lecturer Azmi Hassan told FMT that despite the disharmony, the “old guard” is what makes the opposition formidable, and said they must iron out any differences they have to present a united front if they hope to secure a win in the next general election.

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