MAY 15 — Of the three things we learnt from the inaugural Unity Government National Convention, the second is striking.

It is the marked change of tact of leaders of the youth wings, with Umno’s Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh leading the way.

Taking the first reconciliation step, Akmal offered his apologies for his tirade against ally Parti Amanah Negara whose president announced the appointment of five PH leaders to head statutory bodies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

Akmal said he wished for both sides to move on and work together to keep a stable government, develop policies for the youth and more. In response, PH’s Kelvin Yii said he too felt that by co-operating the grand coalition could achieve more.

Other youth leaders like MCA’s Nicole Wong Siaw Ting, MIC’s Raven Kumar Krishnasamy, Upko’s Felix Joseph Saang, Amanah Women Youth Chief Nurthaqaffah Nordin, PKR Youth chief Adam Adli Halim and Amanah Youth chief Mohd Hasbi Muda shared similar sentiment.

The appointments are not without criticism actually. The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), for example, disagreed with the appointments. It urged the unity government to end "old practices” of "rewarding” their leaders through lucrative appointments in government-linked companies (GLC) and statutory bodies.

In a statement, Bersih said the wanton appointment of party leaders to such positions could be construed as an abuse of public trust and office, and bordered on corruption.

Now that foes have become friends, does that mean that friends are beyond reproach?

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.