Put service above self

TOMORROW is the first sitting of the first session of the 15th Parliament.

It will be an important occasion for the new MPs who will be sworn in at the Dewan Rakyat.

It will be even more crucial for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the newly appointed Prime Minister of the unity government.

As the 222 elected representatives take their seats in the august House, they will have to weigh in on the legitimacy of Anwar’s appointment to lead the country through a vote of confidence.

As Anwar put it in his first press conference as Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister, the first motion from the government – which is a vote of confidence – will prove that he has the majority of parliamentarian support in the Dewan Rakyat, and as such, making the question of instability “irrelevant”.

Yes, this confidence vote is essential to allow Anwar to lead effectively.

It can strengthen the stability of the unity government and give it a clear mandate to run the country.

The people are tired of the infighting that has dogged Malaysian politics. They want and deserve political stability.

It is thus vital that all MPs put the country and people first before party and self by doing the right thing.

They must move on quickly and put their service above themselves instead of harping on about who the actual election winner is or who has the rights to the premiership.

The MPs must also not waste much time further debating Anwar’s appointment made under Article 43(2)(a), which states: “The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint as prime minister to preside over the Cabinet, a member of the House of Representatives who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House.”

Let’s uphold the power accorded to the Malaysian King and Malay rulers under the Constitution.

As it is in every competition, there is a winner and a loser in an election.

Malaysian politicians must be mature enough to accept the reality instead of continuing to cook up possible conspiracies to wrestle for power and put the country in another round of political instability.

The MPs who have agreed to be part of the unity government led by Anwar meanwhile must be committed enough to walk the talk and accept the challenges ahead to work together until the end of this parliamentary term.

Malaysia has squandered a lot of time in the last two years, first due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which paralysed the country’s economy, and then due to the multiple changes of government in a relatively short period of time that hampered the country’s economic progression.

Let’s remind ourselves that the country needs a proper and stable leadership to guide us through the expected global recession next year.

We also need a leader who is recognised and respected by other world leaders to ensure the Malaysian economy continues to boom even during bad times.

It’s time for us to look ahead and bring the country out of the economic doldrums.

Ultimately, we need to ensure that Malaysia continues to be a multiracial and multicultural nation while upholding the status of Bahasa Malaysia as the official language, Islam’s status as the official religion, the privileges of the Malays and bumiputra, and the position of the Malay Rulers as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

As Anwar had pledged, under his administration, Malaysia will be for all Malaysians, “regardless of ethnicity, religious belief or region, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak, (who) should not be left to feel that they are ignored in any way.”

And for this, we need all of the MPs to remember that they are doing this not for themselves, but for the country and the people.