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No News Is Bad News
PMX Anwar under ‘political siege'
KUALA LUMPUR, May 30, 2025: Will Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim dare appoint his daughter Nurul Izzah as a backdoor minister to replace Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli or any other portfolio?
No News Is Bad News opines that Anwar couldn’t care a damn what anyone thinks of such an appointment.
If he did, he would not have engineered the Rafizi-Nurul contest to sideline Reformasi (Reformation) PKR reformists.
Anwar had to rid the party of reformists in the central leadership bacuse the “Abim and Umno DNA” in him is too overwhelming for him to discard his preferred politics of nepotism/cronyism and patronage ala-Umno-style.
The Rafizi reformists are, therefore, a stumbling block or thorns to Anwar’s political agenda.
No News Is Bad News reproduces below what Murray Hunter has to say about disenchantment within Anwar’s Cabinet:
Giri Thesan posted in 2 groups.
Murray Hunter
Disenchantment within Anwar’s cabinet
With the recent resignations of Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad from cabinet early in the week, disenchantment with the Madani government is prevalent within the cabinet itself. Rafizi and Nik Nazmi’s resignation is a symptom of greater discontent. The principle of cabinet solidarity up to now has shielded perception into the feelings of members away from public view and discussion.
Disenchantment is not restricted to Rafizi and Nik Nazmi. It spreads through members from other parties within the ‘unity’ coalition. The window into the cabinet was opened by Nurul Izzah Anwar’s challenge for the deputy president of the party, which pre-empted Rafizi’s resignation from the cabinet.
It’s been long very clear, Anwar as prime minister wants total loyalty, all above else from his members. Most ministers Anwar appointed from PKR had that quality. Some he had to appoint as senators to make them eligible to have a seat around the cabinet table.
Anwar’s policy directions and management style of government business come from himself, rather than any wide cabinet, party, or coalition consensus. There is no coalition policy manifesto developed to steer members in a similar direction.
Anyone who says or does anything to the contrary becomes distrusted. Anyone who shines a light brighter than the PM is seen as a threat.
There are a number of stories about the frustration of ministers who are restricted in what they can do. In many cases their ideas and plans are rejected by Anwar. So, some ministers are frustrated they can’t do what they believe is best.
Some argue this is because Anwar’s hands are tied because he is in coalition. However, in Sarawak, where the governing parties are in the ‘unity coalition, many reforms especially in education have been enacted. UMNO leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has also said there are reforms that should be made.
So, there is no excuse for the lack of reforms enacted from this government. Many say, give Anwar a chance because he has many constraints. What constraints are these? Do they really exist?
Anwar has sizable loyalty within the cabinet to be sure. However, the cabinet is so large, its not majority support. Most of the other ministers and deputy ministers like those from the DAP count themselves lucky to be in cabinet and are silent. Their frustrations are only spoken of quietly in front of very trusted friends.
Most associated with UMNO feel very unsettled. They are starting to ask questions among themselves, and are keeping options open, even though they espouse ‘all the way with UMNO’.
The question now is can this cabinet hold together until the next election? This year, Anwar will have to fill 3 key positions, one due to Tengku Zafrul’s term in the senate expiring in December. He also has non performers dragging down the government.
PKR is now very unstable, and Anwar doesn’t have skilled ministers who can persuade other ministers to ‘toe the line’. The arrogance of some of the PKR ministers leaves a lot to be desired and this effects the dynamics of the cabinet room. Anwar may not be able to put his daughter Nurul into the economy portfolio due to widespread criticism.
The cabinet could be only one scandal away from becoming even more fractured. The current civil case lodged by Yusoff Rawther against Anwar for sexual assault could be very damaging. Such things have brought down prime ministers in other countries. In Malaysia, if the accusations are descriptive enough, it could trigger talk within the coalition partners for alternatives.
It might be over the top to say Anwar is in seize, but if there is further discontent within senior PKR figures and any scandalous material comes out of the Rawther case, The dynamics could very quickly change.
There is much truth to this.
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