LANGKAWI: Political instability in Malaysia, which has ushered in three prime ministers in the past four years, will not be solved by the general election tomorrow, says former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
In an interview with Nikkei Asia, Mahathir, who twice served as prime minister for a cumulative 24 years, noted that no single party is expected to secure the necessary majority to form a government as voter preference is divided.
The three largest coalitions are Barisan Nasional led by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Pakatan Harapan led by Anwar Ibrahim, and Perikatan Nasional, led by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
Mahathir is chairman of Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA), consisting of several fringe parties, including his own Pejuang.
“No party will win with an absolute majority,” said Mahathir during a break from campaigning in Langkawi, where he is defending his seat won in the last general election in 2018.
He said that due to the strengths of each coalition, the votes will be spread out, denying a simple majority of 112 seats to any of them.
“The results of the 15th general election will determine what will happen to Malaysia for the next five years,” he said. “The likely thing is that there will be political instability, as no party will be strong enough to govern the country.”
Mahathir declined to predict who will end up as Malaysia’s tenth prime minister.
“It is too difficult to say,” he answered.
Asked about the chances of Anwar, his political protege before a falling out in the late 1990s, Mahathir said: “Anwar believes he is the closest (he has ever been) to becoming PM, but everybody knows Anwar is very optimistic.”
He said that if he loses in Langkawi, he will finally retire and not interfere in national politics.
“If I lose, that means people don’t want me, so I’ll take the signal and just retire.”
He faces five other candidates in his Langkawi constituency, which has more than 67,000 registered voters, including almost 22,000 under the age of 30.
Mahathir had some health scares – heart-related ailments and Covid-19 – late last year and this year that resulted in him being hospitalised. But his team has arranged the campaign so the nonagenarian could safely crisscross the nation without endangering his health.
“We have a doctor travelling with us all the time,” he said. “I can rest whenever I want, even take naps in the car and while flying.” - FMT
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