PUTRAJAYA (Dec 5): PKR deputy president Mohd Rafizi Ramli said on Monday (Dec 5) that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s decision to take up the finance minister position was to thwart infighting in the unity Government.
Rafizi, who is now the Minister of Economy, called his party president’s decision a tough call to make, but defended it by saying that each component coalition of the Government was vying for the Ministry of Finance portfolio, which created a difficult situation for the PM.
“For example, if there is a person from Pakatan Harapan (PH) who becomes the finance minister, there will be pushback from Barisan Nasional (BN). If [it's someone] from BN, there will be pushback from PH, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and the others,” he said in illustrating Anwar's dilemma.
Rafizi said that the decision was also borne out of “extraordinary circumstances”, where the 15th general election concluded with no one coalition holding the majority to form the Government, and required an amalgamation of coalitions to make up a Government.
“At the same time, we need strong economic leadership as the main thrust of the Government,” he added.
Rafizi said Anwar’s decision was appropriate, considering the circumstances, as it was to ensure that issues regarding the finance minister post from the different coalitions do not emerge.
"But I hope as we move forward, and as we put everything in place, then certainly the situation now (the PM holding the finance minister position) is an exception, not a norm,” he added at a press conference.
Anwar’s unity Government is composed of the PH coalition with 82 parliamentary seats, BN (30), GPS (23), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (six), Warisan (three), Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (one) and Parti Bangsa Malaysia (one), as well as two independents.