KUALA LUMPUR – Instead of going out hunting for a political coalition to join, the fledgling Pejuang party appears to be fine just waiting to be hunted.
Pejuang pro tem chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said, with the current political landscape as it is, no one party or coalition is likely to gain an absolute majority in Parliament.
This, he said, means others will have to seek cooperation from his party if they are to have any chance of helming the government.
“A majority party will have to work with us to form the government,” he said in an interview on BFM Radio’s Breakfast Grille programme today.
“Because in the election, most likely, neither the left nor the right, neither Perikatan Nasional (PN) nor Pakatan Harapan (PH), will get a clear majority,” he said.
Dr Mahathir was asked which major political party Pejuang will work with in the next general election.
Dr Mahathir had earlier said Pejuang’s main goal is to stem corruption from the bud, adding it is concerning that even an entire government can be toppled by “buying” certain individuals.
“This is what Pejuang is all about. We won’t be able to form the government. We know we are small. But we want to fight corruption,” he said.
On his previous claim that he will not work with corrupt Umno leaders charged in court, Dr Mahathir said this remains the case, regardless whether they are found not guilty.
“These people know they are guilty. It will be a sad day when the whole world knows certain individuals have stolen money but the court decides otherwise. It will be a sad day for the judiciary,” he said.
Dr Mahathir also acknowledged that there have been instances of corruption during his stints as prime minister in the past, but none that involved him.
“The former premier (Datuk Seri Najib Razak) stole billions of ringgit. Did I? I didn’t steal a single sen. Instead, I give back. When I was prime minister, I insisted the cabinet take a 10% pay cut,” he said, referring to an announcement he made immediately after PH won federal power in May 2018, that all PH ministers would have to take a salary cut.
On what he wishes to be remembered for, Dr Mahathir said: “I don’t care about my legacy. I’m quite sure when I’m dead and gone, people will run me down, but I don’t care. I’ll be dead anyway, so what legacy?” – The Vibes, January 15, 2021
Parties will chase Pejuang to form coalition, we won’t chase them: Dr Mahathir
They will need cooperation from his party to gain majority, says ex-PM
Updated 5 years ago · Published on 15 Jan 2021 12:41PM
