This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on January 11, 2016.

PETALING JAYA: The launch of Pakatan Harapan’s code of conduct at its leadership convention on Saturday reflects promise as well as problems of the revamped coalition, as it tries to win back disenchanted voters who have given up on the bickering opposition parties.

The code covers seven points: making joint decisions binding on all parties upon consensus; requiring members and leaders at all levels to respect positions adopted by other parties; giving every member the right to lodge a complaint against a member of another party; allowing common policies to be developed and reviewed; permitting only one candidate to represent the coalition in elections; providing for a prime minister, menteri besar or chief minister to be selected by consensus; and permitting only the presidential council to decide on the status of the coalition.

For activists like Affendi Hasni, the promise is that they can finally tell a sceptical public that unlike the former Pakatan Rakyat, the pact’s three parties will be bound by the same aims and public policies.

With the code, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah), DAP and PKR can no longer be accused of being political bedfellows who “sleep on one pillow, but have different dreams”, said Affendi, head of PKR’s student bureau.

The problem, however, according to former DAP leader Norman Fernandez, is that the code is only good so long as the parties follow it, which did not appear to happen even after its launch at the pact’s leadership convention.

“You had one guy who went up on stage to say that DAP should not contest in Malay areas in Johor. If DAP wants to contest, they should either do it under an Amanah or PKR banner,” the former Johor DAP deputy chairman said.

It showed that even before the ink had a chance to dry on the code, the parties were already breaching its rules, which among others, state that remarks about an allied party should be made internally.

Everyone must agree

On paper, the seven-clause code is supposed to put an end to all the pitfalls that made the previous Pakatan coalition incoherent, from the flip-flopping views on syariah penal laws or hudud to local council elections, and most importantly, to who gets to be prime minister.

“It’s good that we have no more ‘agreeing to disagree’ because voters are confused as to what it means,” Sabah PKR secretary Datuk Maijol Mahap said.

As PKR secretary-general Mohd Rafizi Ramli puts it, parties can no longer come out with individual stands that contradict what has been agreed to by all three in the presidential council — a body that comprises all top party chiefs.

At the same time, component members can now take a majority decision of two against one to eject a member who has consistently breached the rules and whose statements conflict common decisions.

“All parties believe that you cannot reach Putrajaya without each other. So, these rules basically ingrain that notion and discipline them, so that their actions do not weaken the coalition,” Mohd Rafizi said.

Political analyst Dr Lim Teck Ghee said the new code could help mould a more cohesive and united coalition, which could help win back lost support, provided that it can tackle differences up front and openly.

A more solid pact compared to the previous Pakatan could also be a game changer in the next general election, and this can win back lost trust and make up for the loss in support from PAS’ exit, said Lim of the Centre for Policy Initiatives.

Walking the talk

Yet, according to Fernandez, the code seems similar to the common policy framework and buku jingga — two primary documents that spelled out the aims and plans of the previous Pakatan.

On their part, Pakatan’s top bosses said a final decision on the proposal for DAP candidates contesting Malay seats would only be made in the presidential council, a sign that the parties are adhering to the code to discuss things internally first. — The Malaysian Insider