‘Better enemies than traitors’: Emerging narrative from PKR, Amanah after Anwar’s failed plot?

A “better enemies than traitors” narrative is slowly taking shape within PKR and Amanah in the wake of Anwar Ibrahim’s failure to provide proof to the Agong of his claim of majority support from MPs to form the federal government.

With anger growing among Pakatan Harapan (PH) supporters who took to social media to air their frustrations on what has come to be known as “disastrous Tuesday”, some leaders have been forced to explain to them that working with “enemies” is better than working with “traitors”.

“Enemies here refer to Najib Razak and Umno leaders, and the traitors are Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Mohamed Azmin Ali,” a social media manager with PKR told MalaysiaNow.

On Tuesday, Anwar was granted a half-hour audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, three weeks after he declared that Muhyiddin’s government had collapsed.

But a statement by the Comptroller of the Royal Family and Household said Anwar had only stated the number of MPs he claimed were backing him to take over Putrajaya, a revelation met with both cynicism and anger.

That same day, several PKR MPs indicated to MalaysiaNow that they were ready to quit the party, a move which could see Anwar’s bloc further thinning in the Dewan Rakyat.