Ilham Centre’s Mohamad Hisomuddin Bakar told FMT it is just a form of intimidation when the government digs up old files from Mahathir’s era in the hope of diminishing the former prime minister’s influence in Barisan Nasional strongholds.
“Like in Felda, where BN has 54 seats. It will be a real pinch for them even if they lose 10-15 seats.
“This is because it will be hard for them to find other seats to compensate for the ones they are likely to lose,” he said.
Hisomuddin was responding to a report by Singapore’s Straits Times yesterday which speculated on the likelihood of more “skeletons” from Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s closet being unearthed.
This follows action to hold a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to probe into billions in foreign exchange trading losses by Bank Negara Malaysia in the early 1990s when Mahathir was the prime minister.
There is also the possibility of another RCI to probe the Memali incident in Kedah, which resulted in the deaths of 18 people, including four policemen, on Nov 19, 1985. This was the result of a police operation to arrest a religious teacher, Ibrahim Mahmud, popularly known as Ibrahim Libya.
The Straits Times quoted KRA Group political analyst Amir Fareed Rahim as saying: “They are doing it because they acknowledge that Mahathir is a threat to the Malay ground.”
Hisomuddin agreed, saying “We see this as just an attack by BN to skew Mahathir’s attention as they feel threatened by the Pakatan Harapan chairman’s influence on voters ahead of GE14.
“If we look back at the Memali issue, it was actually resolved when the government tabled the Memali White Paper in Parliament.
“This issue is just being politicised to hinder Mahathir’s movements in the political arena,” Hisomuddin said.
On a similar note, Universiti Utara Malaysia’s (UUM) Malaysian Institute for Political Studies director Kamarul Zaman Yusoff said the general public is smart enough to see all these as part of politics.
Kamarul told FMT such tactics could be interpreted as attempts to prevent Mahathir from further advancing himself in view of GE14.
“But for all we know, Mahathir’s will is very strong. He will not slow down because he is very determined in achieving his goals.”
Kamarul reiterated that such tactics will not have any effect on Mahathir as the influence of the PPBM chairman was more widespread and runs deeper than most other politicians in the country.