“Now that Mahathir and Muhyiddin have finally agreed to set aside their differences, the stage is set – the entire Malay race will be enticed to rally behind Muhyiddin, Mahathir, Hadi and Annuar Musa in a spectacular show of solidarity the country has never before seen”
Raggie Jessy Rithaudeen
ڤركارا يڠ ڤاليڠ دتاكوتي ڤه-بن – ڤڽاتوان محضير، محي الدين، هادي، اننوار موسى
UNTUK BERITA TERKINI, SERTAI TELEGRAM TTF DI SINI
One key factor that prevented Perikatan Nasional from winning the 15th general election was Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s refusal to work together.
Mahathir was adamant that Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) was the way forward and that winning the general election wasn’t as important as maintaining one’s principles.
TONTON: PH, BN CEMAS SEBAIK SAHAJA MAHATHIR & MUHYIDDIN SETUJU KERJASAMA
However, GTA was fresh from the oven when parliament was dissolved, and from what I gathered in rural Langkawi and Selangor, many were under the impression that Mahathir was still with Bersatu.
“Parti siapa punya saya pun tak tahu,” said one farmer from Sungai Besar, pointing to the Pejuang flag.
In Langkawi, a very influential village elder who is said to exert considerable influence over a large community of voters had another think.
Having organized a small luncheon for me and Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, the elder, together with some kampung folk, expressed grave dissatisfaction with a certain individual from Pejuang.
I got the impression that the villagers weren’t in favour of Pejuang itself, not because they did not love Mahathir, but because they felt that the former Prime Minister had lost the plot.
Put bluntly, there were those in Langkawi who believed that Mahathir had either lost control or never had control in the first place over the people immediately surrounding him.
I had the same feeling, but understood that time was not on Mahathir’s side, and that he was too focused on his mission to worry about the shenanigans of those immediately around him.
Bearing this in mind, I decided to campaign for Pejuang and told myself not to bother with any of Mahathir’s ‘self-appointed gatekeepers’.
My first campaign stint was in Langkawi, on the invitation of a group linked to the Pejuang Headquarters there.
Almost immediately upon arrival, I was greeted with stories of ‘rival camps’ putting spokes in each others’ wheels, and began to marvel at how such a small party could end up with very UMNO-like problems in a very short period of time.
Still, I was determined to deliver a ceramah in Pulau Tuba come hell or high water, and I was going to do it with Haniff Khatri, the person I travelled to Langkawi with.
So you can imagine my shock when I learned of an attempt to cancel the ceramah, and it appeared to me that the attempt had something to do with our presence in Langkawi.
But Haniff wanted none of it – he made it absolutely clear that things were to proceed as scheduled unless instructed otherwise by Mahathir himself.
And that pretty much sums up how the ceramah finally saw the light of day – or moonlight, really.
I felt so sorry for Mahathir, that after the Langkawi trip, I was determined to help make sure that Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan had a better chance of winning in Titiwangsa.
So, the day after I returned to Subang, I got in touch with Khairuddin and offered to assist him with his election campaign
But at the back of my mind, I was almost certain that Pejuang would be wiped out. Still, when anyone asked, I would say that Pejuang had a clear chance of winning at least 10 seats
Look, spirits were down, and funds were scarce. Pejuang candidates were akin to sitting ducks that got very little money and support, apart from the money they received to pay deposits.
So you see, it would have been suicide for me to tell volunteers that Pejuang had a cat in hells chance of winning anything, let alone the election.
The fact is;
1. Many rural Malays were under the impression that Mahathir was still with Bersatu, and that voting for Bersatu was akin to voting for Mahahir’s party.
2. Those who knew Mahathir was with Pejuang were not convinced that Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir had what it took to lead a party.
3. Some felt that Pejuang was redundant, since both Pejuang and Bersatu appeared to share the same goal, i.e. to defeat UMNO.
4. According to them, since Bersatu defeated UMNO during the 14th general election, it was logical to support Bersatu instead of Pejuang, considering that Bersatu had partnered with PAS and was better positioned to defeat UMNO.
5. Many in rural Langkawi were not convinced that Mahathir had control over those around him, and as a result, felt that the former Prime Minister had lost the plot.
6. There were even those who considered Pejuang to be “parti bapak dan anak” – to them, Mahathir had a hidden agenda, i.e., to turn his son into the next Prime Minister (this is a lie that has been spread by Najib’s people since 2015)
I remember imploring Mahathir and Muhyiddin to work together for the sake of Malay unity via Facebook live sessions prior to the 14th general election.
I was dead sure that a PN-GTA alliance would pave the way for both PN and GTA to form government, possibly even with a two-thirds majority.
But this was not to be.
Mahathir and Muhyiddin refused to patch up, and some Malays I met after the election told me that they abstained from voting due to their disenchantment with the duo.
The majority that did vote wanted to deny the DAP another chance at power, and since Perikatan Nasional was better positioned than GTA to get the job done, it was Hobson’s choice.
Anyway, all that is in the past.
When I met Mahathir soon after the general election, I couldn’t stress enough the need for him to appear on stage together with Muhyiddin, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang and Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
My logic was simple – if you are trying to tell the Malays to unite, you yourself must be willing to do so or nobody will listen to you.
Now that Mahathir and Muhyiddin have finally agreed to set aside their differences, the stage is set – the entire Malay race will be enticed to rally behind Muhyiddin, Mahathir, Hadi and Annuar Musa in a spectacular show of solidarity the country has never before seen.
Yes, the die has been cast.
Could this be a reason why reports were suddenly lodged against Mahathir?
