MALAYSIA: When the elections ended in 2022 and Anwar Ibrahim was given the chance to form a new government, half of the country was in shock.

The reactions on social networks were divided between exaltations for Anwar supporters and anger and spite from opponents.

The leaders of the opposition parties did nothing to stem the rise in vitriolic attacks against the new Prime Minister, and with the series of elections in states around the country, there is a sudden rise in the same pattern of personal attacks against the PM.

Now, Anwar is pressed by an unholy alliance that is trying to push him out of power. The reason is perhaps the fact that Anwar could become the first PM to complete his term since 2018.

The cacophony of anti-Anwar voices online is now being used to tell Anwar that he is unpopular and that losing in the state elections is an indication that the current alliance is doomed.

Why is the current opposition alliance being formed against Anwar and his alliance, Pakatan Harapan (PH), unholy?

It is all about etiquette. This is the first time in the history of politics, I believe, that a party sitting in the government in alliance with a party is joining an opposition camp against the particular party in a state election.

This is not democratic. This action undermines the moral legitimacy of democratic governance. When Anwar insisted that those in his cabinet who attack his government during the elections should resign, the ‘opponents’ cried foul.

It is utterly mind-boggling to witness the sheer audacity of politicians who openly fire broadsides against their own government leader while remaining comfortably ensconced in his Cabinet.

Instead of doing the honourable thing by resigning their posts to fight their battles on clear ideological ground, these figures have chosen to play a cynical game of chicken—effectively daring the Prime Minister to sack them while they rail against the administration from political soapboxes.

This complete lack of decorum exposes a political culture where principles are tossed aside the moment personal power or party positioning is on the line.

Politics is meant to be a serious duty governed by accountability, not a shameless exercise in having your cake and eating it too.

There is a profound hypocrisy in watching politicians spend the campaign trail attacking the federal coalition’s direction, only to retreat to Putrajaya, sit at the same Cabinet table, and grin for the cameras as if no betrayal ever occurred.

To act as fierce opposition on the campaign trail during the day and resume the privileges of ministerial executive power at night is a breathtaking display of moral flexibility that treats the electorate’s intelligence as a joke.

Ultimately, this behaviour reveals a deeply troubling deficit of political morality.

If a minister or party leader cannot support the coalition government they serve, the baseline of integrity demands that they walk away before throwing punches.

By refusing to step down, these leaders demonstrate that their true loyalty lies neither with the stability of the nation nor with basic political ethics, but rather with the preservation of their own office.

It leaves voters watching in total disbelief as those entrusted to lead the country reduce governance to a transactional, shameless farce.

As for the ‘Islamists’ who claim integrity and morality, it is unbelievable to see how they can fall to such low levels of moral failure, endorsing the ministers from Anwar’s cabinet while showing all the disgust for the PM.

I wonder whether this is the good Islamic morality that the PAS is teaching the country? And if ever they return to power, what kind of morality will they spread?