Pejuang looks to the past for its lonely 'mission impossible'

Pejuang looks to the past for its lonely 'mission impossible'


JOHOR POLLS | With only a month left for the March 12 Johor state assembly election, there has been a flurry of political activities ranging from Harapan-Muda negotiations to BN-PN rivalry.

However, the new party Pejuang has not been under the spotlight despite its huge ambitions.

The seven-month-old party plans to contest more seats than any of its opposition peers. At 42 seats, that's the same number of constituencies Umno, the dominant force in Johor is targeting.

Critics see Pejuang trying to bite off more than it can chew, but the party is determined to push ahead on its own, despite the scepticism.

Some 300 Pejuang members from across the country descended in Skudai, Johor, last night for the launch of the party's election machinery.

Acknowledging the seemingly impossible task against the far more established political rivals, Johor Pejuang chief Sharuddin Md Salleh reminded members that they had done this before.

"We are a small party compared to the others but we can still remember the 14th general election where we hardly had machinery, branches, members or even power.

All we had was our aspirations. And yet, we pulled off the impossible and defeated Umno in Johor," he said.

Johor Pejuang chief Sharuddin Md Salleh


Shahruddin was referring to their experience when they were in Bersatu, having brought Umno to its knees in the 2018 general election despite the party being only less than two years old.

Pejuang is a Bersatu splinter party. It broke away after Bersatu brought down the Pakatan Harapan government to form a new one with Umno.

But the circumstances are now different as Pejuang is without any allies.

The solo path

It is refusing to cooperate with Harapan, accusing the coalition of selling out after they entered into a confidence and supply deal with the new government.

"I'm not confident in Harapan's big tent approach because we cannot be in cahoots with a government that comprises kleptocrats.

"We did not sign a memorandum of understanding with the government, so we are better off going solo," Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir told the press after the launch.

Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir


Harapan had argued its deal with the government that launched a coup against it was necessary to maintain political stability amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Apart from positioning Pejuang as a true opposition party that will have nothing to do with Umno, their leaders sought to impress upon their supporters about former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's legacy in turning Malaysia into an "Asian Tiger".

This is a legacy that they say is being lost due to kleptocrats wrecking the nation. Mahathir is also the Pejuang chairperson.

"When we gained independence, there was no KLCC or the Petronas twin towers, most people were farmers and fishermen but our independence birthed leaders who were sincere in helping the people to advance into the Asian Tiger.

"We were brought to call ourselves Malaysians. But during our nation-building process, we surely faced challenges, and we saw how the Asian Tiger turned into a kleptocratic nation.

"All it took was 10 years led by corrupt Malay leaders," Pejuang secretary-general Marzuki Yahya told spirited supporters clad in the party's white and pale dark blue colours.

The narrative of corruption and national decline is very much similar to other opposition parties, which, despite a common message, have been unable to unite.

Unhealed wounds

Old wounds have yet to heal, and the bitterness over the blame game of who was responsible for the collapse of the Harapan government - and a hint of those responsible could be heard in Mukhriz's speech.

"There are certain quarters who like to point fingers at others because they were unable to realise their dream to become prime minister," Mukhriz said during his speech to party activists.

He did not name names but appeared to be referring to Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar Ibrahim and Dr Mahathir Mohamad


The Harapan government came to power on the promise to institute reforms and stem the rot of BN's alleged corruption, but it was also plagued by instability due to mutual distrust between Anwar and Mahathir.

Mahathir had feared Anwar would try to oust him earlier than expected while Anwar was worried Mahathir would go back on his promise to eventually hand over power to him, creating a toxic relationship that their internal rivals fed on to seize power for themselves.

Mahathir was deeply popular in the lead up to the 2018 general election, which saw BN's ouster, but the sentiment has reversed dramatically following the collapse of the Harapan government.

However, a small core group remains strongly loyal to him and the speakers last night fed on it, despite Mahathir's absence.

Mahathir is still recovering after being hospitalised at the National Heart Institute, and he has sent messages of encouragement to the Pejuang members.

The March 12 Johor polls will be a litmus test for Pejuang to show its formula is viable - or face a reality check.

A total of 56 constituencies in the Johor State Legislative Assembly will be up for the contest. The nomination day has been fixed for Feb 26.