If PAS behind him, Dr M will have coveted two-thirds

The last general election was the sixth for Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the helm of a political coalition. But unlike the previous five when he was the head of BN, the nonagenarian did not win a two-thirds majority in Parliament, which allows for constitutional amendments.

However, speculation had been rife that Mahathir and those aligned to him, within and outside the government, have been working towards this aim and this is the reason Bersatu had opened its doors to former Umno lawmakers.

And now if PAS makes good on its pledge to support him, the prime minister would possess a two-thirds hold on the Dewan Rakyat when Parliament reconvenes in March.

Pakatan Harapan and its ally Warisan control a total of 134 seats in the Dewan Rakyat. They would likely have the support of five others from Sabah - four independents and one MP from Upko.

If all 18 MPs from PAS were to vote along with the government bench, bringing the number to 157, then Mahathir would have cleared the two-thirds (148 seats) requirement.

Mahathir's successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was the only other prime minister to wield a two-thirds majority following the 2004 general election.

Four years later, Abdullah led BN to its worst-ever electoral performance at the time where the coalition lost its two-thirds majority and several states.

In the last general election, under the stewardship of Abdullah's successor, Najib Abdul Razak, the curtain came down on BN's more than six decades in power.

However, it would be premature to conclude that Mahathir would be guaranteed a two-thirds majority as it must be tested in the Dewan Rakyat.

Although the Dewan Rakyat would convene in less than a month, there are no indications from Putrajaya that there would be any bills to propose amendments to the constitution.

One of the most eagerly awaited constitutional change involved the decoupling of the public prosecutor's role from the attorney-general's.

Others include making key institutions, such as the MACC, completely accountable to Parliament.

A two-thirds majority is a doubled-edge sword, which could be utilised to institute much-needed reforms in the country or serve to further impede democratic principles if abused.

Details about PAS' decision to back Mahathir is not entirely clear.

Last Friday, Mahathir hosted PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and two other PAS leaders in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting was initiated by PAS.

While Mahathir himself never said the meeting touched on legislative matters, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan claimed that there was a draft agreement for PAS to back the prime minister should a vote of no-confidence be initiated against him. 

Hadi was pressed on this last Friday but skirted reporters' questions several times.

There is also speculation that PAS had offered an olive branch to Mahathir because the authorities are probing allegations that the party received funds from Umno.

Hadi had recently dropped a suit against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown, who alleged that RM90 million might have made its way to PAS from Umno. This had led to fresh scrutiny on PAS' source of funding. 

PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli had in 2017 alleged that a large sum of money from scandal-hit SRC International Sdn Bhd had flowed into the accounts of an ex-PAS leader.  - Mkini