Parties in unity government strong enough against alleged plans to seize power: Malaysia PM Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday (May 1) that the parties in his unity government are strong enough to defend against any plot to topple the government. 

He said this following claims that there are plans to remove him from his position via by-elections among Barisan Nasional (BN) Members of Parliament (MPs) who did not support him.

"The conspiracy is there but there is no basis, we will focus on our work ... Every month there is a strategy (to topple the government),” Mr Anwar was quoted as saying by Bernama. 

“As far as we can see, the position (of the government) is quite strong.” 

According to a report published by news portal The Vibes last Monday, several BN MPs were being wooed and persuaded to quit their parties and sacrifice their seats. 

The MPs would then seek re-election under the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) banner, according to the report. 

Following this, BN secretary general Zambry Abd Kadir issued a statement affirming the coalition supreme council’s support of the unity government led by Mr Anwar. 

“Barisan Nasional is committed to jointly develop the people's policy agenda and continue to implement it,” he said in a statement last Thursday. 

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu, among other politicians, has denied the claim. 

Mr Ahmad Faizal was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini and other local outlets that the allegations that his coalition is plotting to topple Mr Anwar’s government are baseless. Bersatu is a component party of PN. 

Speaking to reporters after officiating a Labour Day celebration on Monday, Mr Anwar also noted that the four political coalitions in the unity government - BN, Pakatan Harapan (PH), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) - have expressed their commitment to defend the unity government. 

Mr Anwar was sworn in as prime minister on Nov 24 last year after the 15th General Election (GE15) failed to produce a clear winner.

He leads a unity government comprising his PH coalition and the previous ruling coalition BN, among other parties. Other parties and coalitions that currently back the unity government include GPS, GRS and Parti Warisan (Warisan).

In March this year, local media reported Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) president Abdul Hadi Awang as saying that based on Malaysia’s democratic system, no one had the right to stop PN’s efforts to topple the government of the day. 

He said that such an attempt can be done either through a vote of no-confidence or via statutory declarations, according to Bernama.