IT is hilarious to hear that Parti Pejuang Tanah Air is positioning itself to lead the Opposition to fight the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional, premised on an anti-corruption platform.
Pejuang’s chairman and twice former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad really believes that his party can lead the battle against UMNO, as in the last general election.
Well, Mahathir may have led Pakatan Harapan to victory in the 14th General Election but he was also the same person responsible for undermining the coalition all the way, leading to its downfall following the infamous Sheraton Move.
It is not whether Pejuang can lead Pakatan or not, rather it us more on whether the Opposition coalition is going to trust Mahathir this time around. Once bitten, twice shy!
Mahathir can talk all he wants about how he is the champion of the anti-corruption crusade in the country. However, when he was prime minister the first time for 22 years, didn’t his pro-Malay policies encouraged and condoned corruption among the UMNO elite, in the name of addressing the economic grievance of the Malays?
Didn’t his close cronies, both Malays and non-Malays, benefit from his policies and economic handouts? If this is was not corruption, then what is corruption then?
And what about his family members? Did they slough their way up to attain social and economic status or benefitted from family connections?
In any case, Pejuang should not think and act as though it is the only the party to have the sole right to define and label those who are corrupted. Look closely and you will see that those who are labelled as corrupt are those in UMNO whom Mahathir is against with.
There are also those who have indulged in acts of corruption, but considering they are allied to Pejuang and Mahathir, are conveniently exempted from the “corrupt” label.
“Loser” Pejuang should fade away
Sorry to say but Mahathir hardly fits the bill of a person or a leader who is well regarded on the matter of fighting corruption.
Nevertheless, I do not think that the Opposition are in a position to trust him not just on eradicating corruption but to bestow him the trust and responsibility to lead the country once again.
In fact, the Opposition must be considered mad if they decide to go with Mahathir the second time. That leopard never changes its spots!
Mahathir also must admit that he is a spent force in Malaysian politics. Despite whatever he says, there are no serious takers of his thoughts and ideas and the recent Johor state election proved it.
For a party that lost all of its election deposits, it should just fade away from Malaysian politics. – April 17, 2022
Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also deputy chief minister II of Penang.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
