KUALA LUMPUR – Ally turned nemesis Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has pooh-poohed pollster Merdeka Centre’s findings that coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) will secure Putrajaya, saying it has been wrong before.
The survey also surmised that Dr Mahathir’s fledgling coalition Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) was the least popular among voters.
While claiming that Merdeka Centre was off the mark when it predicted that Barisan Nasional would win the general election in 2018, he admitted that he is unsure how many seats his coalition will be able to secure, reported Malaysiakini.
During a campaign event for GTA’s Ampang candidate here last night, Dr Mahathir said: “We just use (our) money, so it is difficult to tell how many seats we will win because the indications are always not accurate.”
He also revealed that he sold some shares to fund GTA’s election machinery seeing that “nobody donated” to his coalition nor his party, Pejuang.
“Nobody donates money to us. People are not very friendly, and also because the economy is not good and all billionaires become millionaires.
“So we have to bring out whatever little money we have. I have to sell the shares also, but I won’t tell you how much,” he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, he did not miss a beat when he unleashed his trademark sarcasm against former protege Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, after the PH chairman claimed that the coalition was confident of securing a simple majority in Dewan Rakyat to form a federal government.
“Well, once upon a time he told the world that he was already the prime minister and (Bersatu chairman Tan Sri) Muhyiddin (Yassin) was no longer the prime minister. Do you know what happened?
“He is very optimistic but we will see.”
Dr Mahathir will be defending the Langkawi parliamentary seat in a five-cornered fight, while Anwar is eyeing to wrest Tambun from Bersatu incumbent Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
Malaysians will head to the polls on Saturday. – The Vibes, November 16, 2022
