GEORGE TOWN: The idea of Perikatan Nasional (PN) embracing twice prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad may be predicated on the premise to leave no stone unturned in the quest to secure Malay support in the upcoming state elections.
Senior DAP leader Dr P. Ramasamy said Pas and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) were not that confident in repeating the same performance as was the case in last year’s general election.
He said that PN embracing Dr Mahathir “tells much about the kind of pact”.
“Realistically speaking, there is a trust deficit between Dr Mahathir, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang.
“But since they have come together in a synthetic embrace, political desperation cannot be ruled out.
“After a period of political hiatus, especially after Dr Mahathir lost badly in the last general election in Langkawi, there is a sense of desperation on the part of Muhyiddin and Hadi.
“There is feeling that by bringing Dr Mahathir into the opposition fold, there is a possibility that Malay support can be enhanced,” he said today.
The Penang deputy chief minister II said the PN leaders knew very well, based on past experiences, that Dr Mahathir could not be trusted.
In the Sheraton Move, he said that Dr Mahathir essentially betrayed Muhyiddin and Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, the coup leaders.
“There is no guarantee that Dr Mahathir may not pull the same thing with Muhyiddin and Hadi.
“However, the coming together, even if it is temporary, is just a move to wean away Malay support from the Pakatan Harapan – Barisan Nasional pact.
“For PN leaders, even if the Malay Proclamation, the Malayness of the Federal Constitution and other racist stunts of Dr Mahathir are incomprehensible or bizarre, as long as these can gain Malay support in the state elections, they are prepared to condone them,” he added.
Elaborating, Ramasamy said, “much water had passed under the bridge” after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim took power in November 2022.
Anwar, he noted, might only be in power for eight months, but the prime minister had been sending the right messages to the people, especially those in the B40 group.
Ramasamy said Anwar had taken a firm and uncompromising stand against corruption, adopting measures to address poverty, controlling food prices and stabilising the ringgit.
“The prime minister knows very well that despite the race and religious rhetoric from the opposition, bread and butter issues are essential for the poor and the needy.
“Pas knows that its mesmerisation of the Malay folks in states like Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu might be a pyrrhic phenomenon.
“At the end of the day, for the people, there must be food on the table, money to spend on basic items and others.
“Ideology alone, whether racial or religious, cannot sustain political support for a long time,” he said.
Ramasamy pointed out that if Pas could not even resolve the basic water needs of the people in Kelantan, then what was the point of talking about grandiose ideas of life and the afterlife?
He said Anwar’s recent whirlwind tour of states might be dismissed as publicity stunts geared for the coming state elections, but the fact he was sending the right messages to address the needs of the poor, could not be dismissed.
“The bread and butter talks by Anwar might be causing panic in the ranks of the opposition.
“No other prime minister in the past had spent so much time and energy to talk about abject poverty than Anwar.
“He might have been only eight months in office, but the messages to the poor are loud and clear,” he asserted.
NST
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