Mahathir and the politics of expediency
By joining forces with the opposition to oust prime minister Najib Razak for alleged corruption, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is playing a longer game
James Chin
Two weeks ago, Mahathir Mohamad did something that no one would have dared to predict—he appeared on the same stage with opposition heavyweights, including Democratic Action Party (DAP) leader Lim Kit Siang, and key non-governmental organisation (NGO) personalities.
They were all there to sign a petition drafted by Mahathir, called ‘Save Malaysia Citizens’ Declaration’, seeking the removal of Najib Razak as prime minister of Malaysia for alleged corruption and maladministration.
Many Malaysians were aghast at the gathering; after all, most of the opposition leaders on stage, were at one time or another, detained, harassed or arrested when Mahathir was prime minister. In fact, Mahathir signed many of the detention orders given that he was the home minister as well.
Many civil society organisations cannot comprehend how it is possible for these key opposition leaders, especially DAP leader Lim Kit Siang, who was detained twice under the Internal Security Act, to link up with the main person who was responsible for systematic human rights abuse in Malaysia and who was responsible for racist policies for more than two decades.
One human rights activist and DAP MP wrote:
… in this quest for justice one must not also forget that Dr Mahathir is the root cause of the rot that is affecting every Malaysian today. One cannot deny that his 22 years in power was made possible by the use of draconian laws to jail dissidents and critics.
This view is shared widely in human rights circles not only in Malaysia but among Malaysian watchers as well.
Rural voters
So why did they do it? The simple answer is politics of expediency. The opposition is calculating, wrongly in my view, that getting rid of Najib will lead to the defeat of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in the next general election, due in 2018. They think that even if this move fails, using Mahathir to campaign against Najib will significantly weaken UMNO’s hold over rural Malay voters. The rural Malay voters are a key component of the electoral system—it is almost impossible to win an election in Malaysia without winning the rural Malay vote.
Others are hoping that by hooking up with Mahathir, this will be the final nail in Mahathir’s political coffin. UMNO will not allow Mahathir back into UMNO now that he has joined up with Lim Kit Siang and the DAP. After all, Mahathir has been saying consistently for the past 50 years, that the DAP’s ideology of ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ is the greatest threat to Malay supremacy and Islamic dominance in Malaysia.
The opposition is making a mistake here for the simple reason that Mahathir is a master tactician who can outwit the opposition. Mahathir has everything to gain from this arrangement while the opposition has everything to lose. Let me elaborate.
Mahathir has only two key items on this political agenda. First, he wants UMNO to stay in power and win the next general election in 2018. Second, he wants his son, Mukhriz Mahathir, placed in line for the prime ministership in the near future.
To ensure that UMNO wins in the next general election, Mahathir needs to get rid of Najib. He knows the allegations of corruption against Najib are so strong that UMNO has already lost the urban vote. The longer Najib stays in power the greater the chance this may affect the rural Malay vote as well. Stealing and misappropriating a few millions here and there is ‘normal’ in Malaysian politics but stealing ‘billions’, as alleged, is something else. The rural Malay ground may not be forgiving for a Malay leader who allegedly siphoned a billion from several government-owned companies in a deal masterminded by a Penang Chinese.
The only way for UMNO to recover is to get rid of Najib and install a new untainted leader. This has worked previously. Abdullah Badawi took over from Mahathir as prime minister in 2003. Then Badawi was universally called ‘Mr Clean’ and he took more than 90 per cent of the seats in parliament in the 2004 general elections largely based on this reputation.
Mahathir also knows that he can get back into UMNO easily by simply saying he was using the opposition to ‘save UMNO’. I guarantee all will be forgiven as long as UMNO stays in power. UMNO members always forgive winners.
