PETALING JAYA - Former premier Mahathir Mohamad’s influence is fading and he may not get far in his campaign to get Prime Minister Najib Razak to step down, says an editorial in Asean Today recently.
The article sees similarities between Mahathir’s attacks on Najib and the 1987-1990 campaign against him by Malaysia’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was long retired by then.
“A former prime minister coming out of retirement and travelling around the country to persuade the people to oust the sitting prime minister, criticising him for arresting arbitrarily, muzzling the media, abusing institutions and destroying Umno this was what Malaysia’s first prime minister did 28 years ago,” it said. “The octogenarian was in poor health and confined to a wheelchair, but was determined to stop Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The Tunku gave scathing interviews to foreign media, very much like Mahathir in recent years.”
However, Mahathir was very much in control of the country and Umno when the Tunku died in 1990, it noted.
According to the article, Mahathir faces an uphill task because he no longer has government machinery or institutions at his disposal.
It noted that Mahathir’s resignation from Umno a few weeks ago garnered “hardly a whimper” from party members.
It claimed that the Citizens’ Declaration had not received the intended support.
“Many voiced their reservations about Mahathir leading this movement, saying Mahathir has a narrow intention of ousting Najib but no desire to have more systemic changes like institutional reforms or protection of rights,” it said.
It would be an arduous task to get the public on board the fight against Najib, it added. “”The former prime minister needs to realise that he now has very little support, and even less sympathy. The man who wielded so much power is now powerless. Karma bites hard.” - FMT
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