The allies’ overcoming of “mutual suspicions” about their intentions has Transport Minister Anthony Loke optimistic concerning the stability of a coalition made up of one-time political rivals.
“The fact that the government has survived for almost a year is an achievement in itself,” Loke said in an interview. “It’s a lot of firefighting.”
Anwar needed to finalize a pact between his Pakatan Harapan coalition and the previous ruling Barisan Nasional coalition – each decades-old rivals – to form a government after national elections last November through which parliament was hung.
However, Loke didn’t need to draw hasty conclusions concerning the way forward for the political group beyond its current term ending in 2027.
“If you manage to get through all the term of presidency with good results, you will have a future ahead of you. That’s why I would like to do it step-by-step,” he said. Loke is the secretary general of the Democratic Action Party, the organization with probably the most parliamentary seats in the federal government.
Anwar is Malaysia’s fourth prime minister in as a few years, with all three of his immediate predecessors serving for lower than two years – despite being rattled by defections and slim majorities. Anwar enjoys the support of not less than two-thirds of Malaysian lawmakers – albeit through a thorny alliance with long-time rivals and regional parties in Sarawak and Sabah.
Mahathir pushes for ringgit peg to US dollar as inflation woes escalate
Mahathir pushes for ringgit peg to US dollar as inflation woes escalate
Political uncertainty has unnerved investors, partly contributing to the ringgit falling to its weakest level for the reason that Asian financial crisis in 1998. The ringgit has fallen 7.3 percent against the dollar this yr, adding to the challenges facing a government torn between the necessity to face the high cost of living, and spend a whopping 81 billion ringgit ($17 billion) in subsidies to cut back the budget deficit.
According to S&P Global Ratings, which affirmed Malaysia’s investment-grade credit standing earlier this yr, political stability is essential to permanently narrowing the budget gap in addition to reducing the federal government’s net debt to below 60 percent of gross domestic product.
Continued changes in government since 2020 have also resulted in policy shifts which have impacted major infrastructure projects resembling the proposed high-speed rail with Singapore and the 50.3 billion ringgit East Coast Rail project.
Loke, who’s in search of to revive the now-shuttered high-speed railway with a private-sector-led model, stressed to investors that the country would honor the contracts no matter any future changes in government.
Loke admitted that despite widespread dissatisfaction over the alignment of the East Coast Railway decided by the previous government, Anwar’s government had decided to not make any further changes because any amendments could be “too disruptive and too costly for the federal government.”
“We need to impress that Malaysia will stick with the rule of law. The sanctity of the contract is significant. Even though it’s a unique party, whatever the agreement signed by the previous government, we have now to live with it. This is a guarantee in itself,” he said.
