KUALA LUMPUR – With his contentious track record when it comes to cooperating with partners, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will unlikely gain much support from other political parties to take the nation’s top job for a third time, said observers.
They said the nonagenarian, who has been named prime minister candidate by his fledgling party, Pejuang, also has a penchant for making unilateral decisions, and even on the off chance that he is able to secure the backing of Warisan, whose president, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, is believed to be a close ally, it will not be enough to persuade other parties to take such a risk.
Without the support of PKR and Umno – major players as far as numbers and influence go – Dr Mahathir’s hope of reclaiming the throne is as good as gone, Universiti Malaya’s Prof Awang Azman Awang Pawi told The Vibes.
“Clearly, PKR won’t support him after what he did to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim,” he said, referring to the former prime minister’s broken promise to hand over the reins to the PKR president.
“As for Umno, it won’t be impressed by his decision to lure many of its MPs to his former party, Bersatu, following the 14th general election (GE14).
“Parties like DAP and Amanah, and MIC and MCA, are also more likely to back PKR and Umno. Even Warisan, for that matter, will think twice, considering Pejuang’s strength, or lack thereof.”
Pejuang, which was founded by Dr Mahathir in August after he was unceremoniously booted out of Bersatu, has only five MPs.
Dr Mahathir, who was prime minister the first time from 1981 to 2003, and returned to the post following GE14 in May 2018, has said he wants the job again to “correct” the Perikatan Nasional government’s allegedly corrupt ways.
However, said Awang Azman, the Langkawi MP no longer has the pull factor, especially after his abrupt resignation as prime minister in February that paved the way for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to form a new administration.
“He did so (resigned) without consulting his coalition partners. And, this disappointment extended beyond Pakatan Harapan. The rakyat felt that their mandate had been abused.
“His actions in the past will also lead other parties to be more cautious about supporting him, knowing he is difficult to work with and has a tendency to change his stance.”
Pejuang can’t do it alone
Universiti Utara Malaysia’s Prof Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, too, believes that Dr Mahathir will not be able to get the numbers, seeing as to how Pejuang is working independently.
Any possibility of him returning to power hinges on the party’s cooperation with either PH, PN or Barisan Nasional, and this is unlikely to happen, said the academic.
“There’s no way anyone will back Dr Mahathir with Pejuang working alone, except maybe Warisan.
“Other than that, I can’t see where Dr Mahathir’s support will come from. I don’t see him or his party being capable enough to lead (the country).”
He said Dr Mahathir’s nomination as prime minister may be an attempt to thwart Anwar’s plan to wrest Putrajaya, given the pair’s long history.
“I feel like he (Dr Mahathir) is trying to divide PH by luring DAP and Amanah to support him. He might be worried that if Anwar is able to get some Umno MPs behind him, then he (Anwar) will be prime minister.
“But with the current developments, I only see Anwar, Muhyiddin, and perhaps, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as having a major role to play in determining the outcome of this political episode,” he said, in reference to the events that transpired following Anwar’s claim on September 23 that he has more than two-thirds of MPs on his side.
Umno recently said it is mulling withdrawing its support for PN, and has demanded fresh terms for continued cooperation. – The Vibes, October 19, 2020
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