PETALING JAYA: True to its name, the unwavering loyalty of the Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) to its voters and the Pakatan Harapan(PH) coalition is not just undisputable but highly admirable.
While a fraction of PKR MPs defected the coalition for “greener pastures” and the loyalty of a number of other lawmakers is questionable, Amanah predominantly, made up of Malays, has been steadfast in standing by its promises made to both its supporters and the political coalition.
None of the lawmakers of the multi-ethnic and multi-religious party had shown a hint of jumping ship in the midst of the recent political crisis the country faced.
theSun spoke to three DAP lawmakers who praised Amanah.
“We are very fortunate and grateful to have a principled partner such as Amanah. It has been solidly behind the coalition. This is because its leaders and members have had a long struggle in politics in fighting for good governance,“ Sungai Pelek assemblyman Ronnie Liu told theSun.
Klang MP Charles Santiago said Amanah has always been a strong ally of PH and he has never doubted the party’s loyalty and contribution.
“We can see that their ideas and way of thinking focuses very much on people development. Their lawmakers who went on to become ministers had also shown such commitment. This is a party we can trust. When one comes from a party that has gone through the kind of a struggle they went through, they look at it differently. They see it as a vocation and the arduous struggle becomes part of their lives. If we observe, we can see the kind of leaders we get from those with a background in activism compared to the opportunistic ones who jump from party to party.” he said.
Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng shared a similar opinion about Amanah’s stance in the coalition.
“Words cannot express how distraught I am over the collapse of the PH government. However, I am proud of my tried and true colleagues of Amanah and those who have remained with PH.” he said.
Asked on the current turn of events on the political front, Liu and Santiago said it should be viewed positively so as to allow the coalition to emerge stronger in the near future.
“What has happened will haunt us for a long time. It was unprecedented, unprincipled and undemocratic and it will not go down well with Malaysians.Civil societies will revolt. Certainly, I have never seen such a thing happen elsewhere, at least not in Asia. Politics can be a long struggle. Everything happens for a reason and we must soldier on to restore democracy,“ said Liu who was optimistic PH will return to power.
Santiago told theSun that although the loss is sad as the takeover was done illegitimately, it should be seen positively as the whole episode will bring awareness to Malaysians.
“It has exposed Malaysians to the kind of leaders that exists in the country. This should be a motivating factor to the younger people to get into politics and clean up the mess. They should join a political party or non-governmental organisation that fights for good governance to express or articulate a different kind of Malaysia and not what we saw last week.” he said.
