Dr M comparison doesn’t hold water, Waytha tells PH

 

P Waytha Moorthy predicts that those who voted for Pakatan Harapan in GE14 are likely to return to Barisan Nasional in the Melaka polls. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: A former minister has doubled down on criticisms of Pakatan Harapan’s decision to accept two former Umno assemblymen into its fold, saying drawing parallels with the opposition coalition welcoming Dr Mahathir Mohamad previously “does not hold water”.

P Waytha Moorthy said PH’s justification can be viewed as a desperate attempt to gain power at all costs.

Waytha said Mahathir was not an MP before the 14th general election and had left Umno on his own accord because of the 1MDB scandal. Similarly, Shafie Apdal left Umno to form his own party.

The strong support PH received in GE14 was due to the state of the nation at that time, of which Mahathir and Shafie capitalised on, he said, adding that the “mantra” at the time revolved around setting up a clean government and bringing Malaysia back on the right path.

The current situation, however, is not about principles but about “purely getting power at all costs”, the former national unity minister said.

“Anwar (Ibrahim) and his friends in Amanah are forgiving frogs, with deals made even before the Melaka assembly was dissolved. This is unlike the situation before GE14, but instead, similar to the much-criticised Sheraton Move,” he said in a Facebook post.

A few days ago, Waytha said PH may have lost the trust of many Malaysians with its decision, adding that the opposition leader’s acceptance of the “frog culture” was a “disgrace to democracy”.

Waytha said any split in votes during the Melaka polls would involve the votes garnered by PH in GE14.

“Those who shifted to PH from BN previously are likely to return to BN or cast their votes for PN as a form of protest, which would be to BN’s advantage,” he said.

He also predicted that the Malays who voted for PH in GE14 are likely to return to Umno-BN due to the inconsistency of PH and the seemingly business-friendly BN government.

“PH has proven its blatant disregard for clean politics that would bring hope for the country. It has even chosen to forsake Muda in favour of frogs,” he said, referring to the party established by Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

Idris Haron and Nor Azman Hassan were among the four Melaka assemblymen who retracted support for chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali on Oct 4, paving the way for a state election.

Former chief minister Idris is now with PKR and is a candidate for the Asahan seat, while Nor Azman is now an Amanah member and will defend his Pantai Kundor seat.

Yesterday, Melaka PH chief Adly Zahari likened the acceptance of the two former Umno men to the coalition accepting Mahathir and Bersatu into PH in December 2016, with an eye on the 14th general election at the time.

Adly said that bringing in Idris and Nor Azman was done with serious consideration on the value they would bring to the coalition in the election and further down the road as well. - FMT