KUALA LUMPUR – Pejuang has begun angling for a new multiracial coalition subscribing to anti-corruption principles, with its chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad saying his party has the potential to be a leader in the new alliance.
He said in a statement today that there is a dire need for some sort of coalition with partners that are not involved with corruption in order to win enough seats to capture Putrajaya in the upcoming general election.
“The new coalition must be aware that disparities between people and states need to be corrected in a fair and equitable way.
“Remember Umno by itself could not form a government. Although Umno is also a Malay party, it accepted the need to work with non-Malay parties,” the former prime minister said.
Noting that many say that there is no opportunity to act against corrupted practices, the nonagenarian said not all hope is lost as the public can still do so through the state and general elections.
Against existing corrupt parties, he stressed, there will be newer parties led by politicians who had refused to be bribed into overthrowing the government elected by the people in GE14.
Dr Mahathir said that if anti-graft voters are still truly against corruption, they will come out in great numbers and vote for clean candidates, bringing about a clean government.
“However, will there be enough votes for those against corruption to win? If GE14 is any indicator, they can win.
“This time around, anti-corruption voters will vote more because of their disgust with the two governments that had seized power through party-hopping, via non-democratic means.”
Citing Barisan Nasional’s win in the Johor polls, the two-time prime minister warned that the coalition may field new candidates, but the leadership and collaborating parties are still the same.
“They may talk about wanting to do away with corruption but their campaigns depend much on bribing the voters in one way or another.” – The Vibes, April 15, 2022
