KUCHING: Malaysians can have a better future if all 47 BN parliamentarians from Sarawak and Sabah quit BN and form their own independent coalition with the opposition.
PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail dared the East Malaysian MPs to leave BN in her keynote address at the ‘Coalition building and coalition government in Malaysia’ forum in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
“The future of Malaysia will be shaped by how well all opposition party leaders understand that effective political coalition demands consensus and compromise that must be anchored on the Federal Constitution and universal democratic principles; otherwise, it becomes unfeasible and untenable.
“And a better future for all Malaysians can be achieved if our fellow 47 patriotic BN parliamentarians from Sarawak and Sabah, like the 47 Ronins of Japanese lore, leave BN to form their own independent coalition with us.
“Then the promise of Merdeka and Malaysia will be fulfilled.”
Wan Azizah said if civil society, namely Bersih 4.0, could rise to the challenge of a Malaysia in crisis by uniting the people, regardless of race and religion, the opposition ‘bloc’ must do so also.
“The moment is now. Faced with a nation in its greatest crisis, we must unite based on immediate priorities and to fulfil the trust of the people.”
Saying this is the greatest political test, she called all quarters to discard the past and look to the future with faith, which is the only hope for a better Malaysia.
“It is our sacred duty to cast aside our differences and raise our efforts to rewrite on a blank sheet of paper what must and can be done together to build a better coalition.”
She said this would only be successful if the opposition re-framed its National Narrative that all citizens are Malaysians first, united under a common vision, with the Federal Constitution as the nationhood contract.
“Raced based politics is no more an option for imagined race supremacy, anti-democratic and neo-colonialism purposes.
“Our diversity as a people in one nation is our very soul and national identity.
“It is our strength, not our weakness.
“We will only succeed if we apply humility, respect and sincerity as the tone of our approach to coalition building.”
Wan Azizah said a round table meeting among key opposition parties tomorrow might decide if the coalition was a bloc, coalition, electoral pact or just a divided opposition.
“It will be our moment of truth, to see if we continue to deserve the support and mandate to lead all those that have shown what yellow is and what red is not.”