'Mahathir desperate to stay relevant'
Published on: Tuesday, January 23, 2024
By:
FMT, Shahrul Shahabudin
Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday dared Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to call for an election to test his support among Malaysians.
PETALING JAYA: A political analyst has dismissed Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s challenge to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to dissolve Parliament as a desperate attempt to stay relevant.
James Chin of the University of Tasmania said it was just another bid by the former prime minister to stay relevant despite lacking a role as an elected representative.
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Chin also said that many Perikatan Nasional leaders had started distancing themselves from Mahathir, especially after his recent remarks about non-Malays not being “completely loyal to Malaysia”.
“The best thing for Anwar and the rest of Malaysia is to ignore Mahathir.
“When he calls for a snap election, most people will shake their heads and realise that he is talking like a desperate politician,” Chin told FMT.
Mahathir is the unofficial adviser to the four state governments led by PAS, dubbed the SG4.
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Yesterday, he dared Anwar to call for an election to test his support among Malaysians.
The former prime minister said he had won five general elections with a two-thirds majority during his first stint in the top post, proving his support from the people at the time.
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He also said that political leaders become prime ministers and form governments after winning elections, “but he (Anwar) lost”.
Anwar was appointed Malaysia’s 10th prime minister on Nov 24, 2022, after obtaining majority support in a unity government made up of Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, Warisan and others.
Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara also expected Anwar to ignore Mahathir’s “baseless” challenge, which he attributed to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s probe against his son, Mirzan.
“Mahathir himself knows that Anwar will not be swayed by this pressure,” Azmi said.
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