All parties involved initially denied the rumours but it was no secret among political watchers that Azmin had fallen out with Anwar Ibrahim, PKR chief and Prime Minister-in-waiting. Azmin was recently implicated in a sex scandal allegedly instigated by Anwar. This led to Azmin openly defying his former mentor on several occasions.
SINGAPORE (Feb 28): Over the past week, Malaysians have once again been rocked by political turmoil. This time, it was an attempted coup to destabilise the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) government. The last 20 months since the PH coalition — made up of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Amanah Rakyat (Amanah) — took over governing in Putrajaya has been marked by sluggish growth. They have also been trying to clean up the mess left behind by the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) administration (which comprised of United Malays National Organisation (Umno), Malaysian Chinese Association and Malaysian Indian Congress).
But the new government has borne the brunt of anger from Malaysians over slow reforms and perceived failure to live up to election promises. PH even lost four of nine by-elections to the BN. For awhile, this fragile coalition seemed to be hanging by a thread. Then, whispers of a plot to oust the government — initiated by a rebel faction consisting of Bersatu and several PKR MPs led by Azmin Ali, the former Economic Affairs Minister and PKR’s deputy president – surfaced. Azmin is said to be the key mover of the so-called National Alliance formed on Feb 23. The aim: To form a wider coalition with opposition parties Umno and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) thus creating a ‘backdoor government’.
