FORMER premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been called a hypocrite for brushing aside concerns of the “green wave” of voter support for Perikatan Nasional (PN).
In a report by FMT, political analyst Dr Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said PAS, as one of the three main parties in the opposition coalition, has been long targeted by Dr Mahathir especially during the latter’s first tenure as prime minister (1981–2003).
“Based on his past criticisms of PN, it’s hypocritical for Mahathir to tell the public now not to fear the green wave,” Awang Azman told the news portal.
According to Awang Azman, among Mahathir’s other criticisms was his labelling of PAS as a “kafir” (infidel) in September last year for collaborating with UMNO and non-Muslim parties.
Dr Mahathir was also against PAS’s proposal to impose hudud (Islamic criminal penalties) in Kelantan.
In November last year, the former Pejuang chairman further said if PAS were to go on to form the federal government, Islam would be abused and there would be “a lot of problems” due to extremists within the party.
According to Awang Azman, Dr Mahathir is currently trying to ride on the bandwagon of PAS, which appears to have successfully captured the Malay vote by obtaining 49 seats in the 15th general election (GE15).
“Dr Mahathir is using PAS to fight Pakatan Harapan (PH) and UMNO,” Awang Azman claimed.
Meanwhile, the news portal further quoted Singapore Institute of International Affairs senior fellow Oh Ei Sun as suggesting that Dr Mahathir might have misunderstood the term “green wave”, which is primarily religious in nature.
“While it has elements of Malay nationalism, I think its religious appeal far outweighs the racial aspect,” he reckoned.
Oh also pointed out that it could be that Dr Mahathir’s “unwavering enmity” towards Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had now grown to a point that he is considering joining forces with the opposition coalition to achieve his ultimate political goal, which is to unseat the Prime Minister. – May 2, 2023
Main pic credit: Twitter/Dr Mahathir Mohamad
