KUALA LUMPUR – Former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has come under fire from his former political colleagues for turning his back on Barisan Nasional (BN) to form a new opposition pact.
MCA president Liow Tiong Lai described Dr Mahathir’s move as an act of a desperate man and an exercise in futility.
“Dr Mahathir is motivated by personal interests and that the new opposition pact would go nowhere because there was no end to the squabbling among them,” Liow, the Transport Minister, told reporters in Bentong, Pahang.
Dr Mahathir has announced his intention to set up a new party to helm a new umbrella political coalition by grouping DAP, PKR and Amanah to take on BN in the 14th General Election (GE14)
Some political critics have claimed that Dr Mahathir’s political move was to oust Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and put his own son Mukhriz in line to become the country’s prime minister by 2020.
MCA secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan expressed regret that Dr Mahathir, the former Umno president and BN national chairman, had deserted the very same coalition that supported him during his time as prime minister.
He reminded Dr Mahathir that he was able to hold a political reign over the country for 22 years largely due to BN undivided support to his leadership.
“And now, this is what he plans to do. I think it is ethically wrong for him to turn his back against Barisan,” Ong has reportedly told newsmen during an event in Ipoh on Monday.
However, the MCA leader conceded that it was Dr Mahathir’s right to form any political pact as Malaysia was a democratic country.
He also said it was premature to gauge on whether Dr Mahathir’s opposition pact would pose a threat BN’s nearly 60 years rule of Malaysia.
He pointed out that Dr Mahathir was yet to formally announce those joining him and on whether the other opposition parties were ready to co-operate with him.
But he said BN cannot ignore Dr Mahathir’s political influence, thus continue to monitor the development.
Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed has disclosed that the Registrar of Societies (RoS) had yet to receive any application to register a new political party.
Under the Societies Act 1966, a formal application must be sent to the Home Ministry for consideration before approval can granted for registration of any organisation.
The Home Ministry would scrutinise the purpose of the new party and whether it would benefit the people at large or created out of self-interest.
The background of the person will be vetted to see if the person has any previous records.
The ministry would also look into the party financial resources as the federal government would not want any party to get monetary aid from outsiders with ill-intention towards the country.
“The vetting would take time and that it was good if Dr Mahathir could submit an application soon.
“The idea was mooted to prop up the opposition pact that has fallen apart.
“It would suffer the same fate because there is no sincerity in their cause,” said Nur Jazlan, the Pulai MP.
Source: asiaone
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