Is the fight between Mahathir and Muhyiddin real, or just wayang?

And that, I feel, is what we are seeing here. It is a smart Muhyiddin who does not want to be Mahathir’s bitch because so many of Mahathir’s bitches were screwed and discarded. Ku Li can tell you that, as can Anwar, Pak Lah, Musa, Najib, and many more (DAP and PKR as well). And I believe Muhyiddin screwed Mahathir before Mahathir could screw him, as what would have happened had Muhyiddin not grabbed the throne.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

There is a saying: if you need to explain the joke then it’s not funny. And of late Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has had to explain quite a number of “jokes” he is playing on Malaysia. In fact, throughout his political career, he has had to explain everything he does, but all his explanations were the opposite of what he is really doing.

Mahathir explained why he needed to send Anwar Ibrahim to jail (different reason given at different times). He explained why he needed to oust Najib Tun Razak. He explained why he needed to go against Umno. He explained why he is friends with DAP. He explained why the Chinese are successful and the Malays are failures. He explained why he wants Shafie Apdal to become prime minister. He explained why Anwar Ibrahim cannot become prime minister. He explained why Mukhriz was proposed as the deputy prime minister or DPM2.

Hell, he even explained why there should be no lockdown so that two million Chinese tourists can come to Malaysia in spite of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

I remember the late Pak Wan, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s father, telling me back in 1987 that you need to observe what “Tok Bomoh” does, and not get confused or distracted by what he says. Normally, when Mahathir says something, he never means it and it is meant to just confuse everyone. (“Tok Bomoh” is the code name for Mahathir back in the 1980s).

But that was the Mahathir of 35 years ago. Today’s Mahathir seems to have lost it slightly. Today’s Mahathir seems to be explaining a lot of what he is doing and why he does it. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin does not need to do that. Muhyiddin moves silently and strikes when and where you least expect it.

Some say Muhyiddin and Mahathir are a tag-team. Muhyiddin plays in the Perikatan team while Mahathir plays in the Pakatan team. Ultimately, though, both have the same objective and both are heading in the same direction. They say this so-called “power struggle” between Mahathir and Muhyiddin is merely a wayang or shadow-play in this game of thrones.

I am not too sure of this but then in a game of thrones anything is possible and we must not discount any theory. But if this is true, then it is certainly a very highly-sophisticated game that very few have been able to detect. Time, of course, will tell, and that time is not too far into the future.

If I were asked to place a bet on what is really happening, I would put my money on the possibility that the conflict between Mahathir and Muhyiddin is real. And the reason I say so is because back in November 2003 Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wanted Muhyiddin as his Deputy Prime Minister but Mahathir blocked the appointment in favour of Najib Tun Razak.

For 66 days, Pak Lah was “jammed” and could not appoint his DPM. And just before Pak Lah could appoint Muhyiddin, Mahathir stepped in and announced Najib as the new DPM “on behalf of” Pak Lah. Yes, it was Mahathir and not Pak Lah who announced Najib as the DPM.

So Muhyiddin knew from as far back as 2003 that Mahathir does not want him. And when Najib took over as prime minister in April 2009, Mahathir “allowed” the appointment of Muhyiddin as the DPM, but with ulterior motives.

Mahathir wanted Muhyiddin to play the role of Goh Chok Tong and warm the DPM’s seat for Mukhriz. It was Mukhriz and not Muhyiddin who was going to take over as the new PM after Najib. But then Mukhriz lost the contest for Umno Youth leader and lost, again, the contest for one of the Umno Vice Presidents’ post. And the reason Mukhriz lost in 2009, and again in 2013, was because, as far as Mahathir was concerned, Najib did not help him.

And that was the reason why in 2013 Mahathir made the decision to get rid of Najib and replace him with Muhyiddin — of course, on condition that Mukhriz is appointed Muhyiddin’s deputy.

But then Muhyiddin knows, once Mahathir ousts Najib and Mukhriz becomes the new DPM, Muhyiddin will not last long. Muhyiddin will be there just to warm the seat for Mukhriz and he will eventually suffer the fate of Tun Musa Hitam, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Tun Ghafar Baba, Anwar Ibrahim, Tun Abdullah Badawi, Najib, and the long trail of bodies that Mahathir left along the way.

So, if Muhyiddin wants to become PM it must be on his own terms, not on Mahathir’s terms. Anwar thought he could be PM on Mahathir’s terms and twice in his life he was stabbed in the back. Ku Li was also stabbed twice in the back by Mahathir. No one who does deals with Mahathir does not get stabbed in the back. The only way to become PM, and last, would be to stab Mahathir in the back first.

And that, I feel, is what we are seeing here. It is a smart Muhyiddin who does not want to be Mahathir’s bitch because so many of Mahathir’s bitches were screwed and discarded. Ku Li can tell you that, as can Anwar, Pak Lah, Musa, Najib, and many more (DAP and PKR as well). And I believe Muhyiddin screwed Mahathir before Mahathir could screw him, as what would have happened had Muhyiddin not grabbed the throne.