PKR MP urges more opposition lawmakers to join CSA

Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin has urged other opposition parties to consider joining the confidence and supply agreement (CSA) signed today between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration, Bersatu, and independent MPs.

Welcoming the agreement involving 13 lawmakers, Sim said the arrangement would further strengthen the government’s parliamentary position while allowing the opposition to continue playing its role as a check and balance.

“The time has come for us to move away from politics aimed at bringing down governments towards politics focused on nation-building,” he said in a statement today.

The agreement comes amid divisions within Bersatu, with only six of its 19 MPs participating in the signing.

Sim’s appeal comes amid divisions within the opposition, with PAS holding 43 parliamentary seats, while 13 suspended Bersatu MPs remain aligned with opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin.

Hamzah was Bersatu deputy president before protracted infighting culminated in his removal, while those aligned with him had disciplinary action taken against them by the party.

Mature politics for stability

Sim described the agreement as a sign of growing political maturity, with rival parties setting aside their differences to prioritise national stability and reforms.

The PKR lawmaker also drew parallels with the agreement signed in September 2021 between then prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s BN-led administration and Harapan, following the collapse of Muhyiddin Yassin’s government.

The earlier agreement, formally known as the Memorandum of Understanding on Transformation and Political Stability, saw Harapan agree not to obstruct crucial parliamentary votes, including on the federal budget, in exchange for commitments to institutional reforms.

Sim further credited the agreement with Ismail Sabri with helping stabilise the government while allowing Harapan to remain in opposition.

He said the latest CSA would similarly allow Anwar’s administration, which already commands two-thirds support in the Dewan Rakyat, to concentrate on economic development, public welfare, and reforms without being distracted by political manoeuvring.

“I am confident that the Madani government will remain stable until the end of the current parliamentary term,” he said.

“Political stability is the foundation of investor confidence, economic growth, and the people’s well-being.

“The interests of the nation must take precedence over partisan political interests,” he said.

Checks and balances remain

Sim, however, stressed that the arrangement should not prevent Bersatu and independent MPs from scrutinising government policies.

“The CSA does not mean that the opposition is surrendering to the government.

“Instead, it demonstrates that the government and opposition can work together in the people’s interests despite their political differences,” he said.

The agreement signed in Parliament today involves six Bersatu MPs led by Muhyiddin and seven other lawmakers, including Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

The remaining six are former Bersatu lawmakers who had previously pledged support for Anwar.

Bersatu insists it remains in opposition

Meanwhile, Bersatu Youth has dismissed suggestions that the CSA means the party is abandoning its principles or joining forces with Harapan.

“Bersatu will never compromise on its principles and original role of monitoring, reprimanding, and criticising government policies objectively to ensure transparency in governance,” it said in a series of infographics.

The wing also clarified that the agreement did not constitute a political coalition or merger between Bersatu and Harapan.

Instead, it said the parties’ political structures would remain separate, describing the arrangement as cross-party cooperation aimed at ensuring national stability and public welfare.

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