“Anwar may offer some ministerial posts to UMNO MPs who he thinks are at risk of withdrawing support for him”
Raggie Jessy Rithaudeen
Talks of a Cabinet reshuffle appear laced with imminence, and many are of the opinion that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wants to shift conversations away from his failures as Prime Minister by putting the blame on his ministers.
That could well be the case, but I fear there is more to the story than meets the eye.
Consider this:
TONTON: PMX BONGKAK GILA, MACAM TAKUT HILANG KUASA
The upcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting will see the tabling of the Supply Bill.
It is an open secret, that Anwar is worried of a plot to topple him through an effective vote of no confidence.
An effective vote of no confidence can and will be triggered should the government fail to secure a majority vote in the Dewan Rakyat during the second or third reading of the Supply Bill.
Under the circumstances, Anwar will have to seek an audience with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong to tender his resignation or advise His Royal Highness to dissolve Parliament.
Of course, the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong is at liberty to brush aside the advice and instruct Anwar to resign as Prime Minister.
But why worry when you have a 147-seat majority, right?
Well, let us not forget that many Borneo Members of Parliament (MPs) were leaning favorably towards Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin immediately after the 15th general election.
However, because Zahid had misled the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong into thinking that all 30 Barisan Nasional MPs supported Anwar, the Borneo MPs saw no option but to support Anwar as well.
These MPs knew that Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan and Syed Saddiq combined accounted for 112 Dewan Rakyat seats, meaning, Anwar had the numbers to form government.
However, nobody expected Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman to withdraw support for the government bench after the state elections.
With the withdrawal, Anwar can no longer remain as Prime Minister without the support of Borneo MPs.
Now, can you tell me for sure – and I mean, 200% sure – that these MPs will not ditch Anwar in favour of Muhyiddin should enough MPs from Barisan Nasional agree to follow suit?
It is for this reason, above all, that Anwar may be contemplating some ministerial posts to UMNO MPs who he thinks are at risk of withdrawing support for him.
That, in my opinion, is his biggest concern right now. But whether or not these MPs accept the posts is another story.
TONTON: PMX BONGKAK GILA, MACAM TAKUT HILANG KUASA
