Basically, Muhyiddin and Azmin teamed up to kill Mahathir and Anwar

It makes sense for PAS and Umno to back Muhyiddin rather than Mahathir or Anwar. Mahathir and Anwar (especially if Mahathir and Anwar unite under the same alliance) are more powerful enemies. Muhyiddin, however, is weaker. So, if later PAS and Umno need to oust the prime minister, it would be easier to kill Muhyiddin than to kill Mahathir and Anwar.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Most Malaysians understand Malaysian politics based on what they read from the back of a box of Cornflakes. But that does not stop them from commenting or from giving their opinion as if they have a PhD in political philosophy or political science. And when you try to educate them, they will tell you to not waste their time with history because the past is not important, only the future is.

For example, how many know that Parti Perikatan or the Alliance Party was a coalition created in 1951 between three parties — Umno, MCA and MIC? And why was Perikatan formed? Not to face the election, but so that the Malays, Chinese and Indians can jointly speak to the British about independence or Merdeka.

In fact, the first general election or GE1 was not in 1959, as most people believe. It was in 1955 — while the 1959 general election or GE1 was actually GE2. Hence, the previous GE14 was actually GE15 and the coming general election is going to be GE16.

Anyway, Perikatan was formed not out of choice but as a sort of ‘shotgun wedding’. Umno, representing the Malays, was talking to the British about Merdeka while the Straits Chinese, under the umbrella of MCA, were also speaking separately to the British.

The British told both Umno and MCA they could not have two separate discussions with two groups so Umno and MCA will need to join forces and speak as one voice. While they are at it, they also need to rope in the Indians because if Merdeka is eventually granted there would be the problem of what to do with the Indians. What were the British going to do with the Indians since India was no longer a British colony and they could not order an independent India to take back the Malayan Indians?

Umno was forced to form Perikatan with MCA and MIC before the British would discuss Merdeka

So that was how Perikatan was formed, more or less a marriage of convenience and born out of necessity and mutual interests. Did Umno need MCA and MIC? No, because in the 1955 general election Umno won 34 seats, MCA 15 seats, MIC 2 seats, and PAS 1 seat. So Umno could have formed the government all on their own with 58.9% of the votes and 65.38% of the seats.

But if Umno did not go to bed with MCA and MIC, the British would not have sat down with them to discuss Merdeka. The British did not want the Malayan overseas Chinese (not the Straits Chinese, mind you, who were Malayan citizens) and the Malayan overseas Indians to become a British problem. They wanted to transfer this problem to an independent Malaya.

In short, the British wanted to just pack their bags and go home without having to bring millions of ‘stateless’ Chinese and Indians back to England with them (and China and India did not want them as well because they were now ‘British subjects’, not citizens of China and India).

So, there you have it. Umno had no choice. Marry MCA and MIC or else the British were not going to leave the country. And if Umno said ‘no’, then Merdeka would not have happened on 31st August 1957 — and the only way to kick out the British would have been like what they did in Indonesia and Philippines, an armed struggle.

When PAS and Umno told His Majesty the Agong they were behind Muhyiddin, Mahathir and Anwar both lost the game

So, for the sake of a peaceful transition, Umno agreed to ‘absorb’ the Chinese and Indians and reduce the Malay majority from more than 90% to just over 50%, a huge sacrifice and concession the Malays had to agree to for self-rule.

But then that is politics and Malaysian politics was born based on coalitions. Power needs to be shared and alliances need to be made to gain power. That was how it started 70 years ago and it is not going to change now. And today, 70 years later, we see another Perikatan born on the same spirit of alliances, coalitions and concessions.

Okay, now let’s fast-forward to 1976 when Tun Razak Hussein died and Tun Hussein Onn took over as Malaysia’s third prime minister or PM3. It was agreed that Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah a.k.a. Ku Li (VP1) and Tun Ghafar Baba (VP2) would make way for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (VP3) to take over as the deputy prime minister. Then, when Mahathir becomes the prime minister, he would appoint Ku Li as his deputy prime minister.

But then Mahathir feared Ku Li because Ku Li was more popular (which was why he was VP1) than Mahathir (who was VP3). So, when he took over as prime minister in 1981, he refused to honour the agreement and did not appoint Ku Li as his deputy PM. Mahathir said he will let the party decide who they want as the deputy prime minister.

In 1976, Mahathir promised Ku Li the DPM’s post and then in 1981 broke his promise and betrayed Ku Li

Hence it became an open contest for the number two slot and Tun Musa Hitam threw his hat into the ring to challenge Ku Li for the number two post. Ku Li would have won the contest until Mahathir opened his mouth and said he prefers Musa to Ku Li. Hence Musa won.

Mahathir did not like or trust Musa. Musa is Johorean (just like Muhyiddin Yassin and Hussein Onn) and Johoreans feel they are a cut above other Malays, especially above pseudo-Malays or Mamaks. Even the Johore palace is ‘different’, as you may have noticed. So, Musa as his number two, is not quite safe for Mahathir.

But then, compared to Ku Li, Musa was easier to handle. So, Mahathir chose Musa just so that he can use Musa to kill Ku Li — and once Ku Li has been neutralised, Mahathir can handle Musa and kill him off later.

Hence, from very earlier in his career, Mahathir has always used one powerful party to kill off another powerful party that posed a bigger threat. And that is why Malaysia has been seeing political turmoil over the last 52 years since 1968. As long as Mahathir is still alive, that is how long Malaysia is going to see political turmoil.

The Muhyiddin-Azmin government is a weak government that depends on the goodwill of the Umno-PAS Muafakat Nasional to stay in power

Political parties, coalitions, alliances, and electoral pacts, are formed to fulfil the political agenda of individuals. Of course, the politicians will tell you their ‘perjuangan’ is about reforms, the rakyat, the nation, and whatnot. It is like the fox telling the chicken it is about to be eaten for the good of all chickens.

When Mahathir decided to work with DAP pre-GE14, it was about getting rid of Najib Tun Razak who refused to appoint Mukhriz Mahathir as the deputy prime minister of Malaysia. Instead, Najib appointed Muhyiddin Yassin.

When Muhyiddin decided to work with Mahathir to get rid of his boss, Najib, it was about getting rid of Najib so that he could take over as the new prime minister or PM7.

When Najib got rid of both Muhyiddin and Mukhriz, Mahathir decided to work with Anwar Ibrahim and DAP. Did Mahathir now love and trust Anwar and DAP? No way, but he had no choice since Najib had proven to be a more formidable adversary after all, and on his own, without Pakatan Harapan, Mahathir could not defeat Najib.

Back in 2015 it was already clear that Mahathir had no intention of making Anwar the PM7 and this picture is worth 1,000 words

So, Mahathir had to make promises to get Anwar and DAP to support him in his effort to oust Najib. And one promise was that he would stay for only two years and hand power to Anwar after that. But Mahathir, since 1970, never kept promises. So why should he start keeping promises now?

Mahathir then used Azmin Ali to neutralise Anwar, just like how he used Muhyiddin to neutralise and eventually topple Najib (or how he used Musa Hitam to neutralise Ku Li, and then used Ghafar to neutralise Musa, and then used Anwar to neutralise Ghafar, and used Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi a.k.a. Pak Lah to neutralise Anwar, and used Najib to neutralise Pak Lah and so on).

Yes, that is a long list of neutralising by Mahathir over 50 years since 1970.

Mahathir used Muhyiddin to kill Najib and finally Muhyiddin killed Mahathir

But the latest twist is the stuff Hollywood movie scripts are made of. Anwar decided to step up the effort to push for Mahathir’s ouster. Mahathir then retaliated by resigning. Mahathir’s plan was he was going to discard party politics and come back as the new ‘independent’ prime minister and form an ‘independent’ cabinet made up of non-party affiliated Malaysians, even some non-members of parliament.

In short, Mahathir was going to turn Malaysia into a dictatorship. But then something happened that Mahathir did not see coming. And that something was Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong torpedoed the move.

Mahathir did not have a Plan B and he faltered. And that was all Muhyiddin and Azmin needed. In that brief period of uncertainty where a vacuum was created, Azmin and Muhyiddin joined forces to hijack the government.

And the winner is…

Earlier, PAS had announced they were backing Mahathir. Umno then jumped onto the bandwagon and announced since PAS was supporting Mahathir they would also back Mahathir.

With PAS and Umno behind him, Mahathir had the numbers even without DAP and the Anwar faction in PKR. Then, PAS and Umno switched alliances and shifted their support to Muhyiddin. Between Mahathir and Muhyiddin, Muhyiddin made a better horse for PAS and Umno. By backing Muhyiddin, PAS and Umno could get rid of both Mahathir and Anwar, two birds with one stone.

It makes sense for PAS and Umno to back Muhyiddin rather than Mahathir or Anwar. Mahathir and Anwar (especially if Mahathir and Anwar unite under the same alliance) are more powerful enemies. Muhyiddin, however, is weaker. So, if later PAS and Umno need to oust the prime minister, it would be easier to kill Muhyiddin than to kill Mahathir and Anwar.

The best option for PAS and Umno is to prop up the weaker Muhyiddin and let the more powerful Mahathir and Anwar fight each other and kill off each other. Once Mahathir and Anwar are buried in the ground, PAS and Umno can then handle Muhyiddin and make him their kuda.

Currently, the government is a Muhyiddin-Azmin government with PAS and Umno merely passengers. But that will change once Pakatan Harapan is fully neutralised. They just need to allow Mahathir and Anwar to finish off their parties and maybe by GE15 the job will be complete, if the COVID-19 pandemic does not finish off Perikatan Nasional first.