By Zheng Bo Fu
The next two weeks could be the toughest for Dr Mahathir Mohamad in preparing to start his new political party.
Based on evolving changes, it is not difficult to see that the former prime minister has been trying to assuage the concerns of traditional Malay voters as he latches on to Pakatan Harapan. In other words, it can be said with certainty that he is still trying to test the waters.
It is not easy to form a new party under current circumstances, as Parti Amanah Negara found out last year.
Amanah was formed by taking over the non-functioning Malaysian Workers’ Party and were only allowed to be active after getting approval from the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to change the name.
Similarly, the new party under Mahathir may not be able to escape the constraints of the RoS.
The new party has said openly that it is bumiputera-based. But it has not made clear whether it meant Muslim or non-Muslim bumiputeras. If it is religion-oriented, it would be Umno No 2. If it is bumiputera-oriented, it would be Sarawak’s PBB No 2.
If it is religion first and bumiputera second, it would cater mainly for Umno malcontents and its scope would not be big. If it is bumiputera first and religion second, then its scope would be bigger, even to target at the millions of bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak.
Based on the current situation, whether it is Umno No 2 or PBB No 2, it would be impossible for the new party to have space to go beyond certain restrictions because the market has been saturated by Pakatan Harapan component parties.
And so, how should Mahathir position his new party? Since the former prime minister does not want to join PKR or any of the Opposition parties, the positioning of the new party must be excellent to ensure its survival.
Therefore, it is less likely that the new party would distinguish itself religiously because it has to accommodate Sabah strongman Shafie Apdal and his followers, as allies. It is more likely to be bumiputera-first.
Muhyiddin on the other hand looks more prudent. He chose first to co-operate with PKR in their road show to explain the 1MDB issue. His tactic may be to gauge the real strength of PKR and also to find out public sentiment. It is for testing the waters before fine-tuning the new party.
Muhyiddin is killing three birds with one stone. However, it is not all for free.
Muhyiddin, in borrowing the PKR platform, has also to recognise that PKR President Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is still the Opposition leader in what could be a political transaction.
The US Department of Justice report has forced Najib’s government into a dead alley.
The change of three top guns in MACC simultaneously indicates that all enforcement, investigation and supervisory agencies which could pose any potential threat have now been properly taken care of.
By doing so, the Najib administration may be able to sort out all internal incidents but the external attack is still ferocious. They may not be able to shake Najib’s government, but they certainly would continue to weaken it and damage its image.
The ringgit has been affected by political issues and Malaysia’s economic outlook does not seem good.
Mahathir and Muhyiddin are still cautious in their moves.
DAP has finally stopped pressing ahead for its proposed snap election in Penang but its bullying DNA is still there and there are still ill-feelings among opposition parties.
Ultimately, Opposition parties still look like a tray of loose sand. There is room for further improvement in their cooperation.
Zheng Bo Fu is a contributor to Oriental Daily News
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