CLAIMING to know how Dr Mahathir Mohamad operates, deputy Umno president Mohamad Hasan said the prime minister would see parliament dissolved before he would keep his word to hand over the reins to Anwar Ibrahim.
For this reason, Mohamad said Umno and PAS must fortify their newly forged alliance as the 15th general election would be held sooner rather than later.
“I know Dr Mahathir. He won’t give it to Anwar. He would rather dissolve parliament. That is why we must be ready.
“Uniting the ummah (the Muslim people) is our top agenda now so that we can form a strong alliance ahead of the polls,” Mohamad said at a get-together with voters last night ahead of the April 13 Rantau by-election.
The former Negri Sembilan menteri besar is in a four-cornered fight for the Rantau state seat against Pakatan Harapan candidate Dr Streram and independent candidates R. Malarvizhi and Mohd Nor Yassin.
Mohamad’s remarks add fuel to persistent speculation over who will succeed Dr Mahathir in the prime minister’s office even though the PH leadership has repeatedly assured the people of a pre-GE14 pact decreeing Anwar is the man.
Yesterday, PKR deputy president Mohd Azmin Ali had to deny yet another round of rumours of a plan to make him deputy prime minister in preparation for him to take over from Dr Mahathir as the PM.
Adding to the uncertainty, in February PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang assured Dr Mahathir he had the Islamist party’s support in the event of a no-confidence vote that was allegedly being plotted by a PH faction.
Hadi said he had information that there were some in the Pakatan Harapan who sought to oust Dr Mahathir.
The Marang MP did not name those in the so-called plot.
Meanwhile, Mohamad said Dr Mahathir did not have a strong mandate as his party, Bersatu was the weakest among the four PH component parties in terms of number of seats in parliament.
Bersatu had 13 seats immediately after GE14 but has since made it 22 thanks to Umno defections.
“Dr Mahathir is not the strong prime minister he was when he was leading Barisan Nasional,” said Mohamad.
“He had himself admitted that his appointment to prime minister had needed the consent of DAP as DAP and PKR now form the biggest bloc in parliament.”
Mohamad said Umno and PAS must not repeat their mistakes in the next general election.
“We must avoid meeting each other. Thirty parliament seats were lost because of three-cornered contests. Otherwise, we would have retained those seats.
“That is why I am confident that if the Malay-Muslim community is united, we can take back the federal government from PH.”
THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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