Don’t underestimate ‘master player’ Mahathir, says analyst

But Ooi Kee Beng says the opposition still faces the huge challenge of dissociating Malays from Umno.

PETALING JAYA: Dr Mahathir Mohamad is a “master strategist”, says a political analyst, following the pledge by Pakatan Harapan (PH) to reappoint him as the prime minister should the coalition win the next national polls.

Writing on Singapore’s Channel News Asia, Ooi Kee Being says Mahathir’s reading of the political dynamics of the country should not be underestimated, although the opposition is still faced with dismantling Umno’s stranglehold in Malay politics.

He said the 92-year-old had quit Umno for the second time in February 2016 and managed to join the opposition for whom he was a sworn enemy, eventually emerging as its choice to head the country.

“This is a man with his finger on the pulse of Malaysian politics. Like a master chess player, he left the tournament circuit in 2003 before he could be defeated,” said Ooi, who is Penang Institute’s executive director.

“Now he returns, a wild card that makes it into the finals,” said Ooi, author of “Between Umno and a Hard Place”, “Done Making Do: 1 Party Rule Ends in Malaysia” and “Merdeka for the Mind: Malaysian Struggles in the 21st Century”.

“A master strategist is one who waits and strikes; and then waits again for the next opportunity,” he added.

Mahathir retired from politics in 2003, 22 years after leading the government and Umno. Following his falling out with Najib, he founded PPBM in 2016, a Malay party shaped after Umno.

Ooi noted that PPBM’s recent annual general meeting saw its members wearing red, the traditional colour worn during Umno general assemblies.

“Both concretely and symbolically, PPBM is challenging Umno on Umno’s home turf,” he said.

He added that Mahathir’s moves to bury the hatchet with Anwar Ibrahim, whom he once sacked from the government, presented a study in “masterful strategy”.

But Ooi said the opposition still faced the unwillingness within the Malay community to ditch Umno.

He said “dissociating” the Malays from Umno in the minds of rural Malays would be critical in toppling BN.

“To what extent Mahathir’s leadership of the opposition succeeds in doing that will be given an irrefutable answer in the exciting general election to be held later this year,” he added. -FMT