Reading between the lines (admittedly not an exact science) of what Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said thus far about Anwar Ibrahim, it would appear that Mahathir hasn’t changed his views about his one-time protégé.
His refusal to walk back on his decades-old comment that Anwar is morally unfit to be prime minister suggests that he still harbours doubts about him.
Even the announcement that he will now campaign for Anwar in Port Dickson fell short of the kind of wholehearted endorsement for the man that one would expect under such circumstances. In fact, Mahathir has had many opportunities to fully embrace his presumptive successor; that he has always declined to do so is indication enough that he for one is not particularly thrilled at the prospect.
The deal for Anwar to take over in two years’ time was something Mahathir was forced to accept in order to build the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. In any case, as Mahathir himself conceded, he did not expect to win and thus didn’t expect he’d have to worry about Anwar succeeding him.
On BBC recently, Mahathir reiterated that he would keep his promise to step down in two or three years, adding that Anwar can take over if that is what the nation wants. That’s a big if, and leaves a lot of room for manoeuvre. In any case, two to three years is a long time in politics and anything can happen.
Power base
In the meantime, with only 13 of the 222 seats, Mahathir knows that his party just doesn’t have the numbers in Parliament. He has sought to augment their influence and power by co-opting his entire cohort of parliamentarians into Cabinet as ministers or deputy ministers but that is not enough.
If he really intends to outmanoeuvre Anwar, he will certainly need to increase the number of MPs in his stable.
The slow implosion of Umno under the lacklustre leadership of the clueless Ahmad Zahid Hamidi offers Mahathir rich pickings. More and more Umno MPs are likely to follow Mustapa Mohamed and Anifah Aman in jumping ship.
Speculation is also rife of mass defections in some Umno divisions. Once the defections gather momentum, Umno will collapse quickly, something that Mahathir himself alluded to while in New York recently.
Zahid, for his part, is discovering that when you have money and position to throw around, people will follow you like the Pied Piper of Hamelin; the real test of leadership is to get people to follow you when all you have to offer is a vision, as Mahathir did in the run-up to the election. That’s what makes Mahathir the formidable leader that he is.
Mahathir, of course, has burned his bridges with Umno but he would almost certainly be open to Umno members joining PPBM in one form or another.
The go-to party for keris-wielders
It is amusing, of course, that having been part of one of the worst kleptocratic regimes in history, Umno stalwarts are now suddenly worried about “bangsa, agama and negara” or “Sabah rights” as the case may be.
Obviously, they are simply looking for a new party to park their ambitions. Well, Samuel Johnson did note that “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels”.
Many might also be deeply worried that they might soon come under the scrutiny of MACC and are rushing to make peace with the new government in the hope of saving themselves and keeping their ill-gotten fortunes.
When they start talking about Malay rights, however, it is clear that the only party they can join (if they leave Umno) is the all-Malay PPBM, as PKR is multiracial and PAS too focused on religion for these materialistic, power-hungry types. In hindsight, that’s the genius of Mahathir in keeping PPBM an all-Malay party.
It also helps that many of these Umno stalwarts cut their teeth under Mahathir and were never big fans of Anwar anyway.
Such is the enigma of Mahathir that even though he almost single-handedly brought Umno to its knees, Umno members tend to flock to him rather than to Anwar.
Proxy war in PKR
Likewise, serious infighting within PKR offers Mahathir further opportunities to outflank Anwar and grow his own party. It is no secret that the fight to the death between Mohamed Azmin Ali and Rafizi Ramli is a proxy battle between Mahathir and Anwar.
Anwar, of course, tried to keep Azmin out of federal politics by insisting that he continue as menteri besar of Selangor; Mahathir put paid to those plans when he appointed Azmin to the Cabinet.
Given the deep-seated divisions between the two factions within PKR, and the viciousness of their attacks against each other, it will be next to impossible to kiss and make up once the party elections are over. It means that Anwar can no longer count on the undivided loyalty of his own senior leadership.
Forging a new Malay bloc
Mahathir must also know that his PPBM, in its present form, is not likely to survive him. It has made little headway in widening its support base among Malay-Muslims though the longer Mahathir stays in office, the more that is likely to change. More than anything else, however, it does not have experienced leaders to stave off challenges to its power post-Mahathir.
If Mahathir intends to keep Anwar at bay, he has to find a way to empower Azmin (who else is there?) as head of a new all-Malay political grouping involving PPBM, Amanah and disgruntled MPs from both Umno and PKR. And that is probably where we are headed.
His refusal to walk back on his decades-old comment that Anwar is morally unfit to be prime minister suggests that he still harbours doubts about him.
Even the announcement that he will now campaign for Anwar in Port Dickson fell short of the kind of wholehearted endorsement for the man that one would expect under such circumstances. In fact, Mahathir has had many opportunities to fully embrace his presumptive successor; that he has always declined to do so is indication enough that he for one is not particularly thrilled at the prospect.
The deal for Anwar to take over in two years’ time was something Mahathir was forced to accept in order to build the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. In any case, as Mahathir himself conceded, he did not expect to win and thus didn’t expect he’d have to worry about Anwar succeeding him.
On BBC recently, Mahathir reiterated that he would keep his promise to step down in two or three years, adding that Anwar can take over if that is what the nation wants. That’s a big if, and leaves a lot of room for manoeuvre. In any case, two to three years is a long time in politics and anything can happen.
Power base
In the meantime, with only 13 of the 222 seats, Mahathir knows that his party just doesn’t have the numbers in Parliament. He has sought to augment their influence and power by co-opting his entire cohort of parliamentarians into Cabinet as ministers or deputy ministers but that is not enough.
If he really intends to outmanoeuvre Anwar, he will certainly need to increase the number of MPs in his stable.
The slow implosion of Umno under the lacklustre leadership of the clueless Ahmad Zahid Hamidi offers Mahathir rich pickings. More and more Umno MPs are likely to follow Mustapa Mohamed and Anifah Aman in jumping ship.
Speculation is also rife of mass defections in some Umno divisions. Once the defections gather momentum, Umno will collapse quickly, something that Mahathir himself alluded to while in New York recently.
Zahid, for his part, is discovering that when you have money and position to throw around, people will follow you like the Pied Piper of Hamelin; the real test of leadership is to get people to follow you when all you have to offer is a vision, as Mahathir did in the run-up to the election. That’s what makes Mahathir the formidable leader that he is.
Mahathir, of course, has burned his bridges with Umno but he would almost certainly be open to Umno members joining PPBM in one form or another.
The go-to party for keris-wielders
It is amusing, of course, that having been part of one of the worst kleptocratic regimes in history, Umno stalwarts are now suddenly worried about “bangsa, agama and negara” or “Sabah rights” as the case may be.
Obviously, they are simply looking for a new party to park their ambitions. Well, Samuel Johnson did note that “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels”.
Many might also be deeply worried that they might soon come under the scrutiny of MACC and are rushing to make peace with the new government in the hope of saving themselves and keeping their ill-gotten fortunes.
When they start talking about Malay rights, however, it is clear that the only party they can join (if they leave Umno) is the all-Malay PPBM, as PKR is multiracial and PAS too focused on religion for these materialistic, power-hungry types. In hindsight, that’s the genius of Mahathir in keeping PPBM an all-Malay party.
It also helps that many of these Umno stalwarts cut their teeth under Mahathir and were never big fans of Anwar anyway.
Such is the enigma of Mahathir that even though he almost single-handedly brought Umno to its knees, Umno members tend to flock to him rather than to Anwar.
Proxy war in PKR
Likewise, serious infighting within PKR offers Mahathir further opportunities to outflank Anwar and grow his own party. It is no secret that the fight to the death between Mohamed Azmin Ali and Rafizi Ramli is a proxy battle between Mahathir and Anwar.
Anwar, of course, tried to keep Azmin out of federal politics by insisting that he continue as menteri besar of Selangor; Mahathir put paid to those plans when he appointed Azmin to the Cabinet.
Given the deep-seated divisions between the two factions within PKR, and the viciousness of their attacks against each other, it will be next to impossible to kiss and make up once the party elections are over. It means that Anwar can no longer count on the undivided loyalty of his own senior leadership.
Forging a new Malay bloc
Mahathir must also know that his PPBM, in its present form, is not likely to survive him. It has made little headway in widening its support base among Malay-Muslims though the longer Mahathir stays in office, the more that is likely to change. More than anything else, however, it does not have experienced leaders to stave off challenges to its power post-Mahathir.
If Mahathir intends to keep Anwar at bay, he has to find a way to empower Azmin (who else is there?) as head of a new all-Malay political grouping involving PPBM, Amanah and disgruntled MPs from both Umno and PKR. And that is probably where we are headed.
"it would appear that Mahathir hasn’t changed his views about his one-time protégé" - y mahathir wan to change his view? its u people that keep on expecting him to do so.
ReplyDelete"It is no secret that the fight to the death between Mohamed Azmin Ali and Rafizi Ramli is a proxy battle between Mahathir and Anwar." - i thot azmin is one that dun wan mahathir in pakatan?
the way i see it, mahathir have not much choice unless dap n amanah is worst than dog, or when hadi is willing to kiss his dick. but the risk is if anwar win tis round, mahathir legacy n his family fortune could be wiped out totally, i think he rather make a deal with anwar. i suppose both mahathir n anwar know azmin has his own mind. cant easily tell he sided with who in the end.
Hadi will not kiss his dick la.. but he supports him to be the premier for the full term mah!
Deletehard to say la bro, hadi tikam pakatan rakyat, now he wan mahathir to emulate him to tikam anwar/ph. hadi cant commit himself to pakatan n he thot everyone is like him.
DeleteNot bad an assessment of the current political news and TDM political manouverings as seen thru a diplomat eyes and most political observers.
ReplyDeleteBut not this time will TDM have it as "My way".
He forgot he is no more in his sixties or seventies years old and that time has passed him and he will not be able to live long enough to see his way thru again.
It is DSAI turn to make the New Malaysia political sphere and the sooner TDM realises it, the better for his current legacy of being one of those leaders who helped save the country from a Kleptocratic regime and ruins.
The days of Mahathirism politics is over and those Mahathirists old enough to be still around had better stop dreaming of returning to the old ways of governing a country.
Article 48 (e) of our FC may disqualify AI. AI was given a full pardon by Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Article 42 (2).
ReplyDeleteIn GE14 70% of Malays voted UMNO or PAS and 94% of Chinese voted DAP. In GE15 100% of Chinese will vote DAP and 70% of Malays will vote PAS. Both Mahathir, UMNO and Anwar's days are over.
ReplyDeleteUnless Someone pulls the Iranian Revolution trick out of his hat when he ascends he throne. Read how the Ayatollahs converted Iran from secular under the old Shah to an Islamic theocracy and maintained power for 40 years....many heads were chopped, secret police empowered, democracy was subverted and many aspiring future MPs could not stand for Parliamentary elections anymore under a 'better, new' re-drafted Constitution.....that wonderful "Guardians of the Revolution" enacted after the revolution a.k.a Council of Eminent Persons drafted --> electoral laws were changed to 'protect the revolution' .....hahaha
Yes those 100% should know what is in store for them in 2 years....They are going to loose big...
From Wikipedia: Iran's Guardian Council (a.k.a Council of Eminent Persons or GIACC whichever is expedient in Malaysia...)
ReplyDeleteSince 1991, all candidates of parliamentary or presidential[20] elections, as well as candidates for the Assembly of Experts, have to be qualified by the Guardian Council in order to run in the election. For major elections it typically disqualifies most candidates, for example in the 2009 election, 476 men and women applied to the Guardian Council to seek the presidency, and four were approved.[21]
The Council is accorded "supervision of elections".[22][23] The Guardian Council interprets the term supervision in Article 99 as "approbation supervision" (Persian: نظارت استصوابی, naẓārat-e istiṣwābī)[24] which implies the right for acceptance or rejection of elections legality and candidates competency. This interpretation is in contrast with the idea of "notification supervision" (Persian: نظارت استطلاعی, naẓārat-e istitlā‘ī) which does not imply the mentioned approval right.[25] The "evidentiary supervision" (Persian: نظارت استنادی, naẓārat-e istinādī), which requires evidences for acceptance or rejection of elections legality and candidates competency, is another interpretation of mentioned article.[26][27]
Yes those 100% thinks there is going to be GE15 and they are going to contest under DAP banner hahahaha…..
Singapore Presidential Election requirements: from Wikipedia
ReplyDeletereads Guardians Council a.k.a Council of Eminent Persons or GIACC a.k.a Presidential Election Committee hahaha......
Presidential elections in Singapore, in which the President of Singapore is directly elected by popular vote, were introduced through amendments to the Constitution of Singapore in 1991. Potential candidates for office must meet stringent qualifications set out in the Constitution. Certificates of eligibility are issued by the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC). In particular, the PEC must assess that they are persons of integrity, good character and reputation; and if they have not previously held certain key government appointments or were the chief executives of profitable companies with shareholders' equity of an average of S$500 million for the most recent three years in that office, they must demonstrate to the PEC that they held a position of comparable seniority and responsibility in the public or private sector that has given them experience and ability in administering and managing financial affairs.