The removal of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and four other MPs from Bersatu, a party that Mahathir co-founded in 2016, would not affect the Malay ground support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, according to a political expert.
Professor James Chin of the University of Tasmania told FocusM that there was no denying that Mahathir was a brand name among the Malays but they have got what they wanted in the PN government which was a Malay-led government.
“There is no doubt that Mahathir is a brand name among the Malays but I think that his removal will have minimal impact on the support of the Malays for the government as they wanted a Malay-led government and they have gotten it with the PN government,” said Chin.
Langkawi MP Mahathir, former Kedah menteri besar and Jerlun MP Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Simpang Renggam MP Dr Mazlee Malik and Kubang Pasu MP Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah were yesterday expelled from the party on the ground that they sat with the opposition during the Parliament session on May 18.
Mahathir and his faction had refused to join Muhyiddin when he led Bersatu out of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government at the end of February to team up with then-opposition parties Umno and PAS to form the government.
Chin said there was an avenue for Mahathir and his faction to appeal against the decision of the party by going to the Registrar of Societies (RoS). In Malaysia, removal of principal holders of party positions must get the approval of the RoS.
“He (Mahathir) can go to the RoS to lodge an appeal but his chances are slim as the RoS is under the auspices of the Home Ministry but the current home minister is Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin. He belongs to the faction in Bersatu which is against Mahathir,” added Chin.
Meanwhile, Dr Azmil Tayeb, a political scientist from University Science Malaysia (USM), told FocusM that the removal of Mahathir from Bersatu clears the leadership conundrum at the party as it cannot have “one foot in each door”, as in, to be in the government and the opposition at the same time.
Azmil added that Mahathir had enjoyed large support among the Malay community in the past and that it was difficult to gauge his support levels now with the expulsion.
“Mahathir had been quite popular with the older Malay generation due to nostalgic reasons for what he had contributed to the nation but the support seemed to wane among the younger Malays,” said Azmil.
He added that the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in helping the people economically, would endear the people to them.
“I think that people are looking at the government’s measures to assist them during the pandemic, and by and large their support would be based on that,” said Azmil.
On what would be Mahathir’s next move post the expulsion, Azmil said he would not discount the possibility of him setting up a new party to contest in GE15.
“At this juncture, it would be difficult to envisage Mahathir joining PKR or Amanah. History has shown that leaders tend to set up new parties upon their expulsion from an existing party such as in Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s case with Semangat 46,” said Azmil. – May 29, 2020
