With Abang Jo’s backing, Anwar says has political footing to focus on economy in 2024

PUTRAJAYA (Dec 23): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today that Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg has assured him that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) will continue to back his administration until the end of the term.

Speaking in a dialogue session with senior editors, Anwar said any attempts to change the government will only be successful with backing from East Malaysian MPs, but this has been discounted by Abang Johari yesterday.

“Yesterday we spoke at length, and he wants this episode to be finalised,” Anwar told the press at the Seri Perdana Complex here, referring to his meeting with Abang Johari.

“I’d like to say that the possibility of ‘tebuk atap’ via the support for Sabah and Sarawak, this has been nullified,” he added, using the Malay colloquial term to refer to attempts to form a “backdoor government”.

Yesterday, Anwar received a visit from Abang Johari which saw both leaders agreeing to strengthen cooperation between the state and the federation.

In a post on Facebook, Anwar said cooperation in green energy and growing opportunities for new investments in Sarawak and the peninsula were among the topics discussed in the meeting.

Additionally, Anwar also said he feels more confident now about implementing reforms and focusing on governing the country after one year in power — thanks to the political stability.

“I’m more confident now. And we will forge ahead with speed and certainty in January,” he said.

He said his administration’s focus in 2024 will be “the economy, economy, economy.”

The Tambun MP also downplayed any friction with political rivals-turned-allies, Umno — saying their working relationship is very good and he has not encountered any major difficulty working with the party.

However, he also suggested that Umno would help to allay any fears from Malay voters of it working with Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) component DAP by explaining the matter in detail to the grassroots.

“They have to explain that DAP is representing a huge majority of voters, especially the ethnic Chinese.

“But even then, what is exactly the problem here?” he asked, referring to Umno working together with DAP.

Anwar currently holds the support of 152 out of 222 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat — a supermajority of more than two-thirds of the total MPs. – Malay Mail