Analyst: PH becoming more solid, but…

There are drawbacks in choosing Mahathir as PM-designate, says UUM's Kamarul Zaman.

PETALING JAYA: A political analyst sees Pakatan Harapan solidifying itself after choosing Mahathir Mohamad as its prime-minister-designate, but questions whether the opposition alliance has thought of the drawbacks.

Speaking to FMT, Kamarul Zaman Yusoff of Universiti Utara Malaysia said the decision had enabled Pakatan to present itself as a united front and allowed it to move “beyond personalities and into policies”.

He said the choice appeared to be logical because Mahathir had the charisma and the experience needed to unite the diverse interests in Pakatan.

“But there are drawbacks,” he said, speculating that problems might arise with the alienation of anti-Mahathir elements within the coalition, especially in PKR, and the certainty that Barisan Nasional would attack Pakatan by citing Mahathir’s authoritarian past .

“The choice might be used as a rather lethal weapon by PH’s enemies,” he said.

Furthermore, he added, Pakatan had shown that it lacked capable leaders. “It has to rely on a 92-year-old with lots of baggage. His promise of a wholesale reform of the country’s political system is a bit questionable. After all, it was he who established the problematic system in the first place.”

He said time would tell whether Mahathir would be motivated and determined enough to undo what he did in his 22 years as prime minister.

Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs CEO Wan Saiful Wan Jan said Pakatan’s decision showed that the alliance as a political organisation could manage the diversity within itself and that it could be run through negotiations among equal partners, whereas “BN is run by a dominant Umno.”

Now that Pakatan had made its choice, he added, the general election would be seen as a direct contest between Mahathir and Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“Mahathir is attractive to the Malays and this is expected to placate their concerns about DAP’s dominance if the opposition wins,” he said.

What remained, he said, was for Pakatan to announce its election manifesto. -FMT