Azalina: MPs must be on the same page

‘Put differences aside’: Azalina (in full black) taking pictures with some of her supporters at the Doa Selamat programme at Masjid Al-Syifa in Pengerang.

PENGERANG: All MPs from the government and the Opposition bloc must be on the same page, especially when trying to fulfil any manifesto that has been made to the people during the election, says Pengerang MP Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

The Law and Institutional Reforms Minister is hoping to see a more supportive Parliament session as making amendments or constitutional reforms will need a two-thirds majority from the MPs.

“If the MPs from both sides are not on the same page or are not walking the talk, it will be a huge setback for the rakyat, especially when we are trying to fulfil the promises that we have made.

“We have to set aside our political party opinions and be fair to the rakyat,” she said when met by The Star after the Doa Selamat programme with the community of Bandar Penawar at Masjid Al-Syifa here yesterday.

“There is a great need for tolerance and understanding among all the MPs, especially in the current unity government as it is a grand coalition of different political parties with different policies and principles.

“There are high expectations from the rakyat on how this unity government will move forward, especially when we have a small number of Cabinet ministers,” she said.

Azalina added that the Opposition bloc must also consider this matter and not oppose just for the sake of opposing.

She also hoped to see similar good relationships between the government and Opposition like the one during the tenure of Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

“But whether there will be another confidence and supply agreement (CSA) or memorandum of understanding (MOU), it will be up to the leadership of the government.

Asked what her short-term plans are for her portfolio, Azalina revealed that she has not gone to her new office and would need to study her role further.

“But what I can say is that I am excited that we have many new MPs and a lot of them are first-timers with high education. So they not only have to meet the expectations of Parliament but also their voters as well,” she said.

Azalina is one of the 28 ministers in the Cabinet announced by Anwar on Friday.

She had held various ministry positions since 2004. She was the tourism minister from 2008 to 2009 and minister in the prime minister’s department (legal affairs) from 2015 to 2018.

She was elected to the Umno supreme council in 2018.