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KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 – As the nation continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, tensions between former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and current incumbent Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin are once again escalating, with the taking of Political decisions take place between both parties.
This includes a recent blog post, in which Dr. Mahathir, who is also president of the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, came to the defense of the former ally DAP, regretting that the Malays were unable to see that the party was not their worst enemy.
This apparent pivot to shore up DAP is seen as a means for Dr. Mahathir to remain not only politically relevant, but also to secure his public support, analysts suggested.
Aziti Hassan, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Geostrategist, stated that Dr. Mahathir is left with very few options as he is discouraging Malaysian support in general.
“It is obvious that Dr. Mahathir realizes that he has lost the support not only of his old party but of the Malays in general. With Umno and PAS tightly controlled over the Malays, Dr. Mahathir has no choice but to endorse DAP to be politically relevant in the 15th general election.
“With Dr. Mahathir probably outside Bersatu and with the PKR infighting affecting his Malay-based support, Dr. Mahathir’s choice is very limited,” said the professor, adding that the current situation is similar to the scenario. before the 2018 polls.
Azmi then points to the current political situation in Kedah, where the State Opposition claimed it has 23 lawmakers who declared a loss of confidence in the leadership of the vice president and Dr. Mahathir’s son, Datuk Seri Mukhriz.
“Looking at what happened in Kedah, where not only state PKR lawmakers quit the party to support Muhyiddin but also Bersatu assembly members did the same, this is the manifestation of how Dr. Mahathir’s influence in Bersatu is rapidly diminishing .
“I think that when the kissing of the Kedah mentri is overthrown, it is a clear sign that the majority of Bersatu MPs and their state counterparts will align themselves with Muhyiddin. And most likely, Dr. Mahathir and Mukhriz do not have a chance to compete in the Bersatu elections, “said Azmi.
Both Dr. Mahathir and Mukhriz are likely to be fired from the party they founded or prevented from participating in their elections, Azmi said.
Yes, they will be expelled from Bersatu before the party elections or if Muhyiddin feels safe enough, he can let the father and son compete and let the delegates choose. In any case, I think this will mean the end for both of them unless other allies like DAP and PKR come to rescue them.
“And this is where Dr. M ridicules the group who is suspicious of DAP and raises his bet to demonize the few leaders of the Umno who are being tried at the moment,” he said.
However, Mukhriz has previously emphasized that the party cannot fire any member without first listening to it.
For lead researcher at Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Oh Ei Sun, Dr. Mahathir’s recent position indicates that the highest-ranking politician is no longer committed to Muhyiddin.
“For approximately two months after the last change of government, Dr. Mahathir has been ambivalent or even equivocal in his attitude and political stance, perhaps deliberately to achieve certain political ends, as Muhyiddin and Azmin’s repentant return to Dr. Mahathir’s camp. ” he said, referring to PKR minister-turned-senior minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
“On the one hand, Dr. Mahathir obviously took his hits when it came to criticizing Muhyiddin’s rule, giving the impression that Dr. Mahathir tacitly agreed that everyone should give Muhyiddin a chance to prove himself.” On the other hand, he did not strike to continue to vehemently criticize Anwar as essentially power hungry. But everything changed with the increase in mistrust movements, some stemming from none other than Dr. Mahathir himself.
“That put Dr. M back in the PH field (for the time being), and he needs to cement his renewed camaraderie with his former PH allies, and thus his basic base of support. Hence the joint statements with Anwar, the sudden defense of DAP, and various other mischiefs to come, at a time when he feels that it is no longer possible to try to get to some sort of accommodation with Muhyiddin’s camp in his group. ” he said.
Oh was referring to a joint statement made by Mahathir and PKR President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on May 9, where both leaders promised to return the people’s mandate after the formation of the Perikatan Nasional administration in February.
Oh stated that Dr. Mahathir’s Malaysian sympathizers or sympathizers could be roughly divided into three sometimes interrelated categories, which are: urban Malays who are often more (but not excessively) liberal, semi-rural and rural Malays who recognize the role from Dr. Mahathir in transforming the country from an agricultural society to a largely industrialized one, improving its socioeconomic lot in the process, and the opportunists, who would jump on any political vessel they perceive as beneficial to their material or other “well-being” .
“I think that most of Dr. M’s supporters and supporters in Bersatu fall into the last two categories, and especially the last category.
“That is why Dr. M had to discuss the motions and so on to demonstrate their political relevance and create the impression that the ‘wind’ is blowing in their direction. So the Muhyiddin side counterattacked and overthrew the Kedah government. under Mukhriz, to get away from the wind under his (and his father’s) sail, so to speak, “Oh said.
“But Malaysian politicians are quite resilient, capable of recovering from even the worst political defeats, as demonstrated by both Dr. M and Muhyiddin, and even Mukhriz over the past half decade,” he added.
Veteran political analyst and independent economist Hoo Ke Ping also influenced Dr. Mahathir’s current position, stating that it was done simply for political survival.
“It is obvious that he has few options, since both parties see it as a responsibility now and only DAP has left,” said the professor.
However, the situation raises an irony, Hoo said, as Dr. Mahathir often criticized and demonized DAP during his first 22-year term as Prime Minister-cum-Umno president.
Hoo also stated that it would be uncomfortable for Dr. Mahathir to lean on PKR since certain elements within the group, and even DAP, want him to resign from his position earlier.
