Pakatan must dump Mahathir or risk losing GE14
Mahathir Mohamad is a liability to any organisation including the Opposition – he practices selective amnesia and tells partial stories.
Karamjit Singh, FMT
The battle for Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar is over. Cavalries from both sides of the political divide have given it their all. Gladiators have clashed. The winners from both battlefields are representatives of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. Now that the dust has settled, Pakatan Harapan (PH) should regroup, reflect and plot ways on how to differently approach the upcoming war of GE14.
It is evident that social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are by no means a reliable indicator of what is happening on the ground. There may be 200 negative comments to a post by Najib Razak. However, the 200 comments are never from 200 people. They are probably comments by 20-30 cyber-troopers who function with fake profiles that may not even translate to a single vote in a voting constituency. Hence, individuals like Tony Pua should stop ranting on social media and should instead start doing some real work. It is obvious the modus operandi of PH has so far failed miserably.
BN candidates in both the by-elections won with majorities that were significantly more than GE13. This is despite national issues like the 1MDB scandal, GST, KBS corruption, private jet travels etc. Can we conclude that BN has become stronger despite all the alleged misdeeds? Can we say that Malaysians care less about national issues? The answer is obviously NO! BN has definitely become weaker than what it was during GE13. However, the Opposition has disintegrated and is worse than what they were prior to 2008. Nobody in his or her sane mind would entrust the Opposition to govern the country at this point in time. This is exactly the reason BN emerges victorious time and time again. It may hurt to swallow this, but reality is always bitter. The faster we acknowledge the problem, the faster we can fix it. Otherwise, the resultant war in GE14 will achieve status quo, if not, with BN faring way better.
The Mahathir factor
Some members of the Opposition thought that flirting with Dr Mahathir Mohamad would give them more leverage. It is pretty obvious that the people have outrightly rejected Mahathir. The sorry state of the country today is due to Mahathir’s leadership. Although some may say he has repented and is therefore trying to correct his mistakes, it is important to note that Mahathir has never accepted his wrongdoings till today. He still maintains that he was right in everything he did. There is absolutely no remorse in him.
In fact, despite the extra-marital relationship with PH, Mahathir has never taken a stand that Umno has to be defeated. He only says that Umno needs to lose so that Najib can be overthrown. He is only holding the Opposition’s hand for aid to remove Najib. Once that is done, he will shamelessly return to Umno and revive Mahathirism through his son. It is an obvious fact that Mahathir still envisions Mukhriz Mahathir as Malaysia’s next prime minister. The only reason Mukhriz was still in Umno (prior to being sacked yesterday) was because Mahathir felt there was still an outside chance for his son. Mahathir has and will never care about the country. He is only interested in his legacy and his family. Mahathir is well known for surreptitious behaviour, and that is perhaps the reason he has never revealed the name of his preferred premier after Najib.
Anwar Ibrahim’s constant written reminders to PKR about Mahathir speaks volumes. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Nurul Izzah Anwar, Gobind Singh Deo and many more prominent Opposition leaders have distanced themselves from Mahathir. Unfortunately, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, Azmin Ali and other Opposition leaders still insist on bedding Mahathir. The people have spoken. They do not trust Mahathir one bit. From Sarawak to Selangor (PKR’s home turf), the by-elections showed us that Mahathir has been rejected. Mahathir is probably the first ex-prime minister who will do well as a standup comedian. When Russell Peters came to Malaysia, people were rushing for tickets. It is always good to detach from the rat race and have a good laugh at a two-hour show. Nobody takes Russell seriously. After all, he is saying things to entertain us. Mahathir has come to do just that. People wait for him to get to the microphone to hear him speak and crack jokes. Everyone wants to listen to ‘Mahathir the clown’. However, when it comes to casting the ballot paper, what Mahathir says is akin to an entertainer in comedy court. Nobody takes him seriously anymore. After all, a clown’s place is in the circus, not in the political coliseum.
Mahathir is a liability in any organisation. He practices selective amnesia and tells partial stories. If you are with him, a murder goes unpunished. But if you are against him, even a minor theft will be condemned to death. How do you classify a person who can be oblivious to his own heritage and portrays himself to be from an ethnic group that he is not? The sooner the Opposition realises this and cut ties with Mahathir, the better it will be for their coalition. Otherwise, rest assured that GE14 is a losing battle.
