Anwar Shafie Competition Ruined Opposition S Chances Hints Youth Leader

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Shafie Apdal had been in the running for the prime minister’s job at first but later decided to throw his support behind Anwar Ibrahim. (Bernama pic)KOTA KINABALU: The rivalry between PKR chief Anwar Ibrahim and Warisan president Shafie Apdal over who should be the prime minister candidate had cost the bloc its chances to regain the hot seat, a Sabah opposition youth leader has hinted.
Without specifically mentioning the names of the two leaders, Upko Youth chief Felix Joseph Saang said “there is no doubt that in the beginning, there was a bit of internal competition and confusion in the opposition itself on the selection of the PM candidate.”
“This ultimately hurt all the parties in the opposition,” he said in a statement here today.
“However, that is in the past. Let this be a lesson to us all. Let us not repeat the same mistake, especially in the 15th general election (GE15).”
In the end, he said the opposition bloc eventually managed to garner the support of 105 MPs for Anwar although it was not enough to elevate him as Malaysia’s ninth premier.
Shafie was initially in the running with Anwar to be the opposition’s candidate for the then vacant prime minister’s post.
The final choice, however, depended on who could get the additional support needed from outside the bloc of opposition parties.
Shafie backed out of the running later, saying his party would fully support Anwar.
Despite this setback, Saang noted the opposition could learn from the experience, saying “it is safe to say that there is room for improvement.”
As such, he called on all the other opposition parties to accept the invitation made by Anwar for them to join or work with Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“The opposition must first settle their differences among themselves before they can come up with common policies and effective plans in taking the country forward, such as the handling of the pandemic and the recovery of the economy,” he said.
Yesterday, Anwar said he would meet leaders of other opposition parties to invite them to join or work with PH.
In a statement, PH’s presidential council said this was in line with the coalition’s “big tent” concept in strengthening the opposition bloc.
Saang said this proposal warranted serious consideration from all opposition parties so they can have a common agenda of providing a real and solid alternative for the people in GE15.
“The opposition does not have much time left as the elections could be held any time soon.
“We must be prepared and our grassroots must start acting now. It is high time for the opposition parties to unite. We must act as one voice,” he said.
Upko youth, he added, would remain steadfast in its stand to support the top leadership’s decision to work with parties that fight for multi-racial ideologies.
Upko now has one MP in Wilfred Madius Tangau. - FMT

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