Betrayal Killed Harapan Govt Not Fight For Pm Post Saifuddin

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The Pakatan Harapan federal government fell after 22 months in power not because of the fight for the prime minister position but due to the betrayal and broken promises by some individuals, said PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said in response to Warisan president Shafie Apdal who recently claimed the tussle for the premiership between Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim and Dr Mahathir Mohamad was a cause of Harapan’s collapse.
“PKR, DAP, and the leadership of Amanah have been in the opposition since 1998 when Shafie was still in Umno, which is the cause of damage in the country now.
“Ahead of the 2018 general election, Mahathir and Shafie were fired from Umno. They looked for us to join and we accepted even though Shafie’s own record has left no legacy to be proud of.
“This is not a fight for the PM post. This is a story of betrayal and broken promises. Attacking Anwar on the issue just exposes the face of Shafie who has big ambitions when his strength is not much,” he told Malaysiakini.
The collapse of the Harapan government in 2020 came about after Mahathir tried to bring down an administration he led, under which he was obligated to hand over power to Anwar.
He tried to replace it with a Mahathir-led unity government that would allow him a free hand to serve a full five-year term without being tied to promises of reform and transition.
To this end he cultivated some PKR leaders and brushed aside others, he invited Umno MPs to defect to his own Bersatu party and bolster its numbers, sought the support of PAS, steadfastly refused to name a handover date, and ignored and eventually mocked Harapan’s election promises.
He then unilaterally resigned after the Sheraton Move, paving the way for Muhyiddin Yassin to take over as prime minister.
Protracted power struggle
Saifuddin Nasution (above) was commenting on Shafie’s claim that he was disappointment when Harapan’s victory in the last general election was destroyed by individuals who, according to him, were fighting for the position of prime minister.
Speaking at the Mega Warisan Lecture programme at the PPR Batu Muda field in Kuala Lumpur last night, Shafie said internal conflicts led to the Sheraton Move 22 months after the formation of the Harapan government.
Warisan president Mohd Shafie ApdalBersatu and a group of PKR MPs defected from Harapan to form a new government with BN, PAS, and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
Shafie warned that another protracted power struggle will destroy the country.
However, Saifuddin Nasution said that the episode of betrayal has made Harapan more mature for GE15.
“There is wisdom behind this episode of treachery and broken promises. Harapan is now more mature and knows how to choose friends,” he said.
For this coming election, Harapan has rejected cooperation with the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition led by Mahathir, while Warisan chose to run solo, eyeing 26 seats in Peninsular Malaysia. - Mkini

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