Dr M's latest ‘Malay unity' effort also bound to fizzle out, say analysts

Free Malaysia Today

14 hours ago

On Wednesday, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched the Malay secretariat committee, intended as an umbrella body to unite all Malays and restore their political power.
PETALING JAYA : Two analysts have poured cold water on Dr Mahathir Mohamad's latest effort to unite the Malays and restore their political power, expecting it to fizzle out like the former prime minister's other initiatives.
Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's Mazlan Ali said Mahathir's previous initiatives, namely the formation of Pejuang and the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition, have both failed.
Neither pundit believes this proposed new movement will gain traction, saying that most Malays will see it as just another political ploy, especially given that both PAS and Bersatu have offered Mahathir their backing.
Azmi said Mahathir may be seeking to replicate the success of Muafakat Nasional (MN), the now defunct Umno-PAS pact, which, at its highest point, led a protest attended by more than 55,000 Malays against the then Pakatan Harapan government in 2018.
Azmi Hassan.
However, he said Mahathir's proposed 'Malay secretariat committee' would not work without Umno's involvement. This is why Mahathir was courting Umno members without inviting the party to join as a whole, Azmi added.
'The reason MN enjoyed a short period of success in the past was because the Malays at that particular time saw a threat in the PH government. Ironically, Mahathir was the prime minister then.
'When there is a threat to the Malays, they will join forces, as seen during the 2018 protest. But right now there is no such urgency, especially for Umno members, to be part of Mahathir's current effort,' Azmi told FMT.
Mazlan said Mahathir's Perikatan Nasional-backed Malay secretariat was likely a political strategy ahead of the next general election (GE16) but is unlikely to bear fruit.
Mazlan Ali.
'I don't see Mahathir as having the gravitas to unite the Malays, because many of his actions seem inconsistent, so the people don't really believe him.
'People will just see it as a political agenda, not an agenda to unite the Malays. A genuine agenda to unite the Malays must be non-partisan.'
He added that not all members of the community believed in the idea of restoring Malay political power, saying Malaysia's multiracial environment meant that political cooperation across all races was a necessity.
Mahathir launched his new Malay unity alliance on Wednesday.
The longtime former Umno president, who later led Bersatu, Pejuang and GTA, said the alliance would not be a formal political party for now but a loose coalition to gather the Malays under one 'big umbrella'.
Azmi said the other issue with the 'umbrella' was that it was led by the same old faces — Mahathir, former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin, and PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.
He preferred former law minister Zaid Ibrahim's proposal of a new movement to unite the Malays led by leaders under the age of 50 with proven success in various fields.
'I think the younger generation needs to be at the forefront, not Mahathir, because Mahathir and his team in the committee have their own political agenda.
'Malay professionals don't have a political agenda, so I think that's the way to do it if we want to gather all the Malays under one roof.'