High stakes in Muhyiddin-Mahathir showdown

Zainal Epi, MMO

Kedah has not fallen to Perikatan National (PN) as Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir awaits a vote of no-confidence against him in a still unscheduled state assembly meeting.

News that the state fell to PN on Tuesday was nothing more than the excitement of the coalition parties in PN. Officially Mukhriz is still the MB and there is no power to oust him unless there is a vote of no confidence in the assembly.

With the latest episode, there is a “political war” between Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in which the latter seeks to remove the former from his position in the government.

Muhyiddin and his strategists have thus far managed to clip Dr Mahathir’s support in Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), with the latest expected casualty being Mukhriz.

Dr Mahathir’s support in the party has been on the decline as his supporters such as Datuk Marzuki Yahya have been stripped of party posts and Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman is defending himself over the loss of RM250,000 in a reported burglary.

Muhkriz and his supporters in the party have been very minimal despite him challenging Muhyiddin for the presidency.

The debate on whether the party actually left Pakatan Harapan (PH) does not matter now as both leaders consolidate their position for the coming parliamentary meeting and party election in which Dr Mahathir retained the charimanship uncontested.

Muhyiddin has been quiet on the challenge to him as prime minister. The vote of no-confidence against him may be tabled on Monday or in the July meeting.

But it is obvious Dr Mahathir will not rest until Muhyiddin falls. Likewise Muhyiddin may feel uneasy with Dr Mahathir behind his back plotting.

Dr Mahathir has been on the attack mode from the start of the war between the two in mid-May when Muhyiddin was focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic.

The stakes are high for either side as it involved the political futures of both leaders who are in the same party. The result of the war will be the “political death” of either.

For Dr Mahathir, this may be his final political battle to correct whatever it is he feels is wrong with Muhyiddin’s leadership. If he loses, this may be his end in politics and he may even lose his legacy.

Failing to win will see his name in Malaysia’s politic erased or shamed.

His son Mukhriz does not seem to have what it takes to fight in a complicated and sophisticated Malay political battle, which explain how Kedah fell without him knowing.

For Muhyiddin, losing the battle means losing his political future altogether as he does not seem to have plans to make a comeback or to fight another day, unlike most politicians young or old.

Thus, the present war brought about by Dr Mahathir is a war Muhyiddin must win or see his name in the country’s politics vanish as the shortest-serving prime minister.

Thus far, Muhyiddin passed the first test in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and now he is fighting to restore the economy battered by the pandemic.

In between, he has to battle the vote of no-confidence in the coming parliament meeting and later the party election where Mukhriz is challenging him for the party president’s post.

For now, Muhyiddin needs only to focus on the coming parliament meeting and the vote of no confidence because his position in the party is considered strong.