Zaid Ibrahim doesn’t deserve some of the heavier brickbats he has received for proposing former PM Mahathir Mohamad as de facto opposition leader. Although the notion does seem a little strange, it is no stranger than some of the things that have happened in Malaysian politics over the years. In fact, it might even be worth a serious discussion.

Pakatan Harapan has been doing nothing more than spin its wheels in the last couple of years or so. It has failed to amass influence even in its own territories, letting opportunity after opportunity slip by. It has been remarked that the opposition seems helpless to turn the electoral tide even with Prime Minister Najib Razak’s low approval numbers.

A lot of that has to do with infighting and a lack of cohesion between the three Pakatan parties.

DAP is the most aggressive of the three, and this is exemplified by Lim Guan Eng’s constant bellows about his own greatness from his stronghold of Penang. But DAP’s loudness is seen as impudence by the gentle rural folk, whose culture values subtlety far above brazenness.

Amanah is burdened by the perception that is submissive to DAP although it argues that its closeness to the predominantly Chinese party is simply a reflection of attachment to shared principles.

While DAP and Amanah have been fighting running battles with PAS and BN, PKR seems content to sit in the corner, with Wan Azizah’s faction focusing primarily on fighting for the freedom of the party’s true leader, Anwar Ibrahim. Azmin Ali, the ambitious PKR deputy president, spends most of his time trying to emulate Indonesian President Joko Widodo, except when he decides to become the piping voice in the room that brings up the desirability of seducing PAS into cooperation with Pakatan.

Mahathir’s exit from Umno Baru was an earthquake that shook Malaysia’s political landscape. Indeed, that was when the question of whether he would become opposition leader first cropped up. Zaid was merely bringing it up again.

The question came up in the public mind precisely because Anwar’s incarceration robbed the opposition of its de facto leader. As it turns out, it is Mahathir that is currently leading the push in the effort to dislodge Barisan Nasional at the next general election. Anwar’s PKR is a mere follower. Zaid, as a man of the people, simply gave voice to that notion in the rarefied air of the political playing field.

Pakatan developed its Achilles heel through neglect of the important task of elevating someone who is free to move about to act as the de facto voice for the coalition. We may never know whether that comes from some misguided hope that Najib will somehow see it fit to release his most dangerous enemy from prison or from a stand-off between conflicting egos or from plain indecision.

Mahathir has said he does not intend to seek the office of PM. He is giving what could be his last healthy years to lead the opposition past the very safeguards he himself set up as the head of the government and of Umno once upon a time. There is no wrong in recognising that fact.

Scott Ng is an FMT columnist.

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