If Anwar’s govt failed, Umno failed too, says Amanah sec-gen

Umno will also be conceding failure if it criticises Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership as weak, since the party is part of the government, says Amanah secretary-general Faiz Fadzil.

Faiz said Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s remark that his party was “capable of doing better”, made during his policy speech at the Umno general assembly yesterday, only highlighted Zahid’s own failure to support the administration.

“If he wants to say the Anwar government has failed, that means he too has failed to help. He too has failed as part of the government,” he told FMT.

Faiz said the performance of Anwar’s administration should be assessed collectively, since the government was formed through a coalition involving several parties, including Umno.

He also said that data on foreign direct investment (FDI), the ringgit’s performance, economic growth, and the Corruption Perceptions Index showed the Anwar government’s achievements were better than those of previous administrations.

“You can say whatever you want, but data doesn’t lie,” he said, adding that the public could make their own assessment based on the government’s track record.

Faiz also cited an example under the Anwar-led government, which successfully paid out all outstanding goods and services tax (GST) refunds totalling RM19 billion.

He said the GST, introduced under the previous Barisan Nasional government, had driven up prices, while Pakatan Harapan had since reduced prices and cleared the RM19 billion in claims.

“So how can we say the previous government’s policies were better than now?” he asked.

He also cautioned Umno against issuing statements that could destabilise the government, if the party was genuinely committed to maintaining political stability until the end of the current term, as its leadership has claimed.

On broader political developments, Faiz said PH needed to prepare for the possibility that BN may not cooperate with it in the next general election.

“The results of the two state elections (in Johor and Negeri Sembilan) should serve as a wake-up call for PH to strengthen its own machinery and not depend on cooperation with other parties,” he said.

In his policy speech at the Umno general assembly, Zahid, who is also the deputy prime minister, referred to unnamed parties as “enough is enough”, and to “give us a chance too”.

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