PAKATAN Harapan's proposal to ink another Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Transformation and Political Stability with the government hides the truth that the opposition is not ready to face the next general election, said a political analyst.
Azmi Hassan, senior fellow at Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, said the MoU was drawn up to delay the dissolution of Parliament instead of benefitting the people.
Azmi said nothing had changed in the political landscape after the MoU was signed on Sept 13.
"The theme of the MoU sounds very nice, but people know why PH wants to avoid the dissolution of Parliament now.
"It's because PH is not ready to face the 15th General Election (GE15), a fact that PH is neither denying nor admitting.
"If you look at the existing MoU, (there is) not much difference (in the political scene).
"The dissolution of Parliament does not depend on the support from PH and other opposition parties (for the prime minister), but depends on support from parties and members of parliament aligned to the ruling coalition (at the federal level).
"I don't think the proposal is for the benefit of the people or for the stability of the government, but rather to avoid GE15, because PH is not ready to face the polls yet."
In the MoU signed less than a month after Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was sworn in as prime minister in August, the cooperation indirectly entails that PH will remain as the opposition and that Parliament would not be dissolved until July 31 this year.
Seremban MP Anthony Loke proposed that the government and PH sign another MoU to delay the dissolution of Parliament.
Loke, who is DAP national organising secretary, said it was not the right time to call an election, given the rising Covid-19 cases.
He said the government and PH should explore the idea only after the MoU conditions had been fulfilled and the anti-hopping law was passed.
Azmi said he believed the proposed MoU was a disguise to confuse the people, as the contents were the same as the existing MoU.
"The proposal is for the benefit of PH and parties that are not ready to face the general election.
"I don't think this will be accepted by people. All the political fiasco that has taken place is due to the antics of MPs.
"I think the sentiment among the people now is that they want their voices to be heard.
"They want the opportunity given to them during an election to express how the country should proceed."
Echoing Azmi's views was Professor James Chin, University of Tasmania's professor of Asian Studies.
"You have to look at the request from a bigger picture. PH does not want an early GE15 because it knows it will do badly.
"The people are unhappy, since there are a lot of things (outlined in the MoU) that have yet to happen, such as the amendments to limit the prime minister's tenure to two terms."
He said he believed Barisan Nasional and the government would not sign another MoU.
Dr Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said the proposal showed that the DAP senior leadership was still dogmatic about its "grand" political pursuit.
In maintaining what is expected to be a "stable" political landscape by forging a political cooperation, the party had betrayed its grassroots, as demonstrated
in the Melaka polls and the just concluded Johor election, he added.
"DAP may think that its supporters' defection would diminish over time, but it is actually by continuing to work across the political divide that the party is pushing its supporters away."