DESPERATE MOVE: Dr M continues his campaign against Najib with declaration and motley collection of enemies turned allies
At the end of the so-called “show of unity” on Friday, a few Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim supporters shouted “Reformasi”, the war cry of the opposition party that is now being courted by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Dr Mahathir, who has ironically turned to DAP and his other sworn enemies for support in his never-ending crusade against Datuk Seri Najib Razak, managed only a smile.
And when he was signing a declaration, demanding, among others, the removal of the prime minister, he had to search his wallet for his driving licence because he had forgotten his IC number.
By their own admission, it was a motley collection of strange bedfellows who obviously dream different dreams.
As the cliché goes, politics is the art of the possible and there are no permanent enemies or friends. Dr Mahathir and Lim Kit Siang had met a few days earlier to find what they called a “solution to the national cul de sac”.
Both have been bitter enemies. And in a desperate move on Friday, Dr Mahathir sat on the same stage with the DAP strongman and other opposition leaders who had suffered the brunt of “Mahathirism” following the tough policies in his 22 years in power.
First of all, the “heat” of the moment could be felt literally. It was held in a crammed room at the Universiti Malaya Alumni clubhouse near Bangsar, with malfunctioning air-conditioning to boot.
There was a lot of excitement in the air as dozens of pressmen jostled for the best seats, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was about to transpire before them.
First, middle-ranking opposition leaders from various parties filed into the room. There was an awkward moment when Pas and Amanah leaders (who are ex-Pas) met each other and shook hands while the media watched.
Excitement built when former ISA detainees Hishamuddin Rais, Tian Chua and Mohamad Sabu made their entrance. “Were they really going to work with Dr M?” someone asked my reporter.
The onlookers cheered when Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir arrived, followed by his 90-year-old father and mother. It was really happening.
Then, Dr Mahathir read out the declaration, which is mostly a regurgitation of all the past allegations against Najib, and called for his removal.
The press conference afterwards was toe curling. Dr Mahathir and the rest avoided answering tough questions. Can they trust each other? Can they forgive Dr Mahathir for what he did in the past?
Kit Siang and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the man just suspended as Umno’s No. 2, sat side by side. Dr Mahathir was consistently smiling while Kit Siang kept a straight face.
During the 1½-hour session, Muhyiddin didn’t say much, only responding to a question on him potentially being sacked for being there.
Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal was absent but the MC, Syed Saddiq, an International Islamic University Malaysia debater, said Shafie was a signatory. Syed was named Asia’s top debater at the 2015 Asian British Parliamentary Debating Championship. But his public statements have been critical of Najib.
Bersih chairman Maria Chin Abdullah and former Bar Council chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan spoke for a while. Maria said by setting up this movement, the mistakes of the past could be fixed. She was responding to a question on whether she could set aside Dr Mahathir’s past mistakes. Dr Mahathir merely smiled.
On the other side of the political fence, Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan took to Twitter to cynically “thank” Dr Mahathir for conspiring with the opposition whom he deeply mistrusted.
“By collaborating with the opposition whose agenda is to destroy Umno, this fight is no longer between Tun & PM. Now it’s between Tun & Umno,” the Sabahan member of parliament said on his official Twitter account, @mpkotabelud.
Hours after the event, Rahman privately admitted that he was taking off his kid gloves with Dr Mahathir. “No more mercy.”
“I chose to attack them on Twitter. It is brutal. What the heck! I am used to it.”
A day earlier, Rahman also took to Twitter to say Dr Mahathir should “hug and kiss Lim Kit Siang’s cheeks” when they meet on Friday.
The reaction from Umno and Barisan Nasional leaders to the Dr Mahathir-led gathering and the release of their so-called “Citizens’ Declaration”, or rather “Mahathir’s declaration”, was predictably swift and sharp.
To them, this unholy alliance is not about just bringing down Najib, but instead, toppling the BN government.
MCA called the event “politically charged”. MIC said Dr Mahathir’s action was unbecoming of a statesman. Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin reminded Dr Mahathir and his newfound friends that the ends should not justify the means.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was in Malacca when the events were unfolding in Kuala Lumpur. But he issued a strong rejoinder, telling Dr Mahathir and company that the democratic process must be respected.
Najib was scheduled to meet BN MPs last night for a pre-council meeting ahead of the next parliamentary session, which opens tomorrow. The meeting is a routine one before Parliament convenes.
Can the Dr Mahathir movement gain momentum? Right now, the group has no clear strategy or an action plan. But they may step up the psy-war through the use of friendly foreign media to attack the government.
But analysts say they expect Umno and BN to go on the offensive, with Dr Mahathir now out of Umno and thinning goodwill from Najib and BN leaders.
The rainbow alliance made up of people with diverse political interests and backgrounds had emerged because each member is not powerful individually. The jailing of Anwar has left Pakatan devoid of the leadership it needs.
“Dr Mahathir is pulling together everybody with the lowest common denominator — dislike of Najib — as he did not succeed in earlier attempts to topple Najib,” Ooi Ei Sun, senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, was quoted as saying.
Fifty-eight individuals from 58 different backgrounds had put their signatures on a piece of paper pledging to “save” Malaysia.
They include “Malay first” Muhyiddin and “Malaysian first” Kit Siang. But interestingly, Kit Siang spent decades in politics to save Malaysia from Dr Mahathir while Dr Mahathir kept a firm grip while in power to save Malaysia from Kit Siang and his “Malaysian Malaysia” DAP.
Politicians do suffer from amnesia.
A veteran newsman, A Jalil Hamid believes that a good journalist should be curious and sceptical at the same time