Highlighting how the MoU has already seen reforms such as the establishment of more parliamentary special select committees and a prorated allocation for opposition MPs for the final three months of the year, Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming said such improvements in the country’s democratic process will collapse if PH reacts to political events with “short-term thinking”.
“For example, there will be a huge outcry if on Dec 8, the Court of Appeal rules in favour of Najib Razak and overturns his corruption and abuse of power conviction in the High Court over the SRC case,” he said in a statement.
“There will be the inevitable public pressure on PH to revoke the MoU with Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government. This will be a mistake as it will be playing straight into the hands of some leaders in Umno, who want to trigger a collapse in the federal government and call for GE15 in the next three months.
“The opportunity for long-term institutional reform will be lost. Such an opportunity may not return in the next 10 years or so, especially if Barisan Nasional/Umno were to use its levers of power to repress and weaken the opposition.”
On Wednesday, the Court of Appeal will deliver its decision on the appeal by Najib to quash his conviction on seven charges of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust (CBT) over SRC International funds.
In July last year, High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali sentenced Najib to 12 years’ jail and fined him RM210 million after finding him guilty on all seven charges.
Ong said PH has seen the result of knee-jerk reactions that were driven by public sentiment recently, noting how PH leaders chose to reject the Confidence and Supply Agreement (CSA) proposed by former premier Muhyiddin Yassin just hours after he made the offer in August.
Muhyiddin’s government would fall days later, and Ong noted how this led directly to the return of a prime minister from Umno, which he said was not in the “strategic interest” of PH.
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