The Malaysian Insight

HERE is what we know: Dr Mahathir Mohamad has no interest to serve as prime minister again even on an interim basis if Pakatan Harapan forms the next government. But he would like to occupy an unofficial position as adviser to the prime minister.

Here is what we won’t know till after the next elections: the opposition’s PM candidate or its main policies to revive Malaysia.

The reason: announcing the PM candidate could result in infighting among component parties and this hurt PH’s chances of capturing Putrajaya, Dr Mahathir told The Malaysian Insight recently.

“We may name a candidate now, who may not be liked by one party or another. Then we will spend our time arguing and quarrelling about this and in the end, we will lose,” said Dr Mahathir.

The former prime minister also said that the opposition pact of PKR, DAP, Amanah and his own party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), will not outline its policies or ideas to revive the country, adding that making any disclosures will result in the Najib administration countering these plans.

In any case, Dr Mahathir said, the removal of Prime Minister Najib Razak alone would result in the value of the ringgit rising and the economy recovering.

“We have got a lot of experience in attracting foreign or direct investment. They know us, they know that when we were holding the reins of the government, they were comfortable,” said the man who was PM for 22 years.

The reluctance of the opposition to name its PM candidate and outline its main policy initiatives should it come to power will disappoint civil society.

Social activists have been urging PH to announce a shadow cabinet or unveil its main leadership team. 

This move would allow voters to make a more informed choice as well as push the opposition to confront the difficult issues before the polls. Civil society believes that if the difficult questions are left unresolved, it could become festering sores after the elections and result in instability and uncertainty in post-election Malaysia.

It is an open secret that there is little agreement among the parties as to who should lead it into the 14^th general election (GE14). DAP and a significant portion of PKR believe that Anwar Ibrahim’s wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, should hold the position of PM until Anwar is pardoned and released from jail, where he is serving out his conviction for sodomy.

Former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yasin has also been flagged as a PM candidate, as has Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali.

In recent weeks, Dr Mahathir’s name has been floated in PH circles, with his supporters saying that naming him as interim PM would win over Malay voters as well as fence-sitters.

It remains unclear what is Anwar’s position on the leadership question. He still wields considerable influence from his cell in Sungai Buloh prison and seems to have resisted any attempt to have any PH council decision forced on him.

Below are excerpts from the interview:

Q: How would you rate the turnout at your ceramah?

Dr Mahathir: Well the number of people turning up seems to be quite big. Like in Kelantan, as many as 12,000 came.

Q: Are you encouraged by this?

Dr Mahathir: I think if you go and talk and only 100 person turn up, you will be discouraged, so I should feel encouraged.

Q: Are there any places that you have given a ceramah and felt the wrong vibes?

Dr Mahathir: So far, no. Even in certain Umno strongholds in Terengganu and Malacca, the turnout was very big and people who used to speak there tell me that normally the turnout in these so-called BN fortresses are very low. But these same people have noticed that a lot more people are turning out now.

We also noticed that many of them are from Umno. We know them because the organisers know who are from Umno and who are not.

Q: Are they are turning up because of the Dr Mahathir factor?

Dr Mahathir: It could be, it could be.

Although I’m the last speaker, they seem to be willing to stand out in the open and listen to what I have to say before going home.

Q: What would take PH to win the next general election?

Dr Mahathir: Generally, we need the support and sympathy of the people. But they don’t necessarily have to join the party, because the government will harass them by sending IRB (Inland Revenue Board), MACC (Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission) after them or take away small contracts. 

On the other hand, we know they are supportive, because even when I go to shopping complexes or something, people come up to me to say thank you, and that they support me.

Q: What is the difference between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional?

Dr Mahathir: BN is dominated by Umno. And quite often, it is a totally Umno affair as the others are not involved, but the others are expected to obey what Umno says. Here in the opposition, we have a coalition of equals and there is some regard for the stature of the leaders.

Q: Has Bersatu identified the seats they hope to contest in GE14?

Dr Mahathir: We have a general idea that we should stand in the constituencies where Umno had won before. This is because many of our supporters are from Umno.

And we hope that while some of them may openly join us, some may just silently support.

Q: Is Bersatu eyeing any particular states?

Dr Mahathir: I have not decided and I don’t want to decide, because you know, there will be parties which may want themselves to be leading the state.

Q: Have seat negotiations even begun in Pakatan Harapan?

Dr Mahathir: No, not yet.

Q: This question has been posed several times about Pakatan and their candidate for PM. Why is it so difficult to put down a name now ahead of time?

Dr Mahathir: We may name a candidate, who may not be liked by some or another. And then we will spend our time arguing and quarrelling about this candidate, and in the end we will lose.

You see, we want to win and we don’t want to bring in controversies for no reason. 

Q: What do you think of the suggestion that you be the interim PM if Pakatan wins GE14?

Dr Mahathir: I have heard about such suggestions and I must admit that I would like to play some role. It would be sufficient if I can have some communication with the PM and with the government, maybe in a kind of unofficial advisory capacity. – April 9, 2017.