Dubai Move? We believe there’s really something like this, or we wouldn’t have so many rumours spreading around us.

Simply put, Dubai Move is a 2.0 version of the Sheraton Move of February 23, 2020. The only difference is that the venue this time is not in PJ Sheraton but some hotel 6,000 kilometres away in Dubai.

The purpose is still the same: to overthrow the sitting government. As for its participants, we have a hard time to tell who is on which side then and now. For instance, some of the “perpetrators” this time were actually the “victims” of a similar move three years ago, and vice versa.

Once again, we see a marriage of political interests.

Ismail Yusop, deputy director-general of J-KOM (community communications department) under the ministry of communications, revealed that quite a number of PN reps started a “Dubai Move” at a UAE hotel while holidaying there, discussing how to get Unity Government MPs to stand on their side.

Ismail said among the participants were several veteran politicians with “Tun” title, including a former prime minister and a former finance minister.

Even no specific names have been mentioned, people who hardly care about politics can also guess who these people are.

However, such claim has been denied by PN component parties Bersatu and PAS. So, it is coincidence that these people went to Dubai for holiday and happened to meet together at a hotel.

As for the widely circulated “Dubai Move” rumour, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he heard something about it, but felt that it was just another move by the opposition attempting to topple the Unity Government, and would not affect his administration at all.

Anwar also said the government only focuses on the country’s development and the well-being of the people. In other words, he is busy with running the country and has no time for such things and people trying to bring down his government.

DPM Ahmad Zahid described the move as “a waste of time”. He said the authorities immediately received the tips the moment these people boarded their flight.

Now that we have the anti-hopping law, it is the party’s collective decision that matters, not the statutory declarations of individual defecting MPs.

He said the Unity Government now commands more than two-thirds majority in Dewan Rakyat, and the opposition should therefore prioritise the country’s economic development and issues pertaining to the people’s living, adding that if they wanted to change the government, they should wait until GE16.

The function of the opposition is to supervise the government, but all it has done is to wrestle political power and nothing else.

Sarawak Premier Abang Jo also said it would be a waste of time if the opposition plans to topple the government through “Dubai Move”. What the country needs most today is political stability as this will lure more foreign investors here, creating more job opportunities for Malaysians.

Indeed, countries around the world are actively wooing investors post-pandemic. Regional countries such as Singapore (with its high-end industries), Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and India (with its demographic dividend) are all strong competitors for Malaysia.

We lack advantages compared to these countries, and if the country suffers political instability, coupled with our limited human resources, investors will be reluctant to come here, and the RM250 billion “potential investments” our prime minister worked so hard for the past one year to attract, may go down the drain.

These politicians will have nothing to lose. They will still enjoy their remunerations and perks, but the ordinary Malaysians will stand to suffer!

With the Unity Government now enjoying the support of two-thirds of lawmakers, and with staunch support from Ahmad Zahid, Abang Jo and others, it will be a tall order for the opposition to seek to overthrow the sitting government.

Although Malaysians may have got accustomed to opposition politicians making some “change government” threats every now and then, investors will be turned off by such tactics, and this kind of “move” will only do more harm than good to the nation.

The “Sheraton Move” that took place on February 23, 2020 ignited the two-year political turmoil that was put to an end only after the general election at the end of that year.

Whatever people may protest, the election was fair and square, and it was up to individual parties whom they wanted to partner with to form a government.

Unfortunately the opposition doesn’t seem to have picked up a lesson from the infamous “Sheraton Move” and would rather drag the nation backward.

The function of the opposition is to supervise the government in developing the country and lifting the people’s standard of living, fighting corruption, ensuring fair education, and closing the urban-rural gap. Has the opposition done these?

The Unity Government’s performance after GE15 is at best mediocre, but at least it has put in a lot of effort in running this country, developing the economy and battling corruption.

As for the opposition, all it has done is to wrestle political power and nothing else.

Here we would like to urge the opposition to take up the responsibility of supervising the government, and challenge the existing administration only in the next general election.