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Mahathir and the Breakfast Club – Vanitha Nadaraj

March 08, 2016

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, 90, stood up to tell the media that he wants his one-time protégé to step down at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur last Friday. Seated around him were mostly political enemies who along with him have decided to put all animosity aside for a common cause. Even his nemesis Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sent a message of support from his prison cell.

Mahathir’s speech was succinct and he kept repeating the key point – that he was now coming together with his fellow citizens to get rid of the son of a prime minister and Umno leader he respected very much. It was Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s father who brought Mahathir back into Umno in 1972 after he had been expelled three years before.

His fellow citizens who were seated near him were made up of a couple of old friends from his Cabinet, one-time Parliament opposition leader Lim Kit Siang who was a thorn in his flesh, and civil rights activists who blamed him for institutional decay. A total of 58 of them signed the 37-point Citizens' Declaration to have Najib removed and reforms put in place.

How the world has changed. It was not just the odd political realignment but also the man himself.

Waning support for Dr Mahathir

Dr Mahathir was once the most powerful man in the country and under him civil liberties were curbed at the expense of development.

He redefined the meaning of national development by corporatising and privatising parts of the public sector and its services to government-linked companies and investment companies. All this gave the government a bigger role in business and this gave patronage a stronger foothold in business, economy and politics.

He was also a natural leader and outspokenness made him the spokesman for developing countries. This was the man who often figuratively showed his middle finger at Western leaders, blamed just about every evil on the “Zionist regime” and Western media’s hidden agenda.

However, his support within Umno has waned over the years, as he is now perceived as someone who is pouting because his son was not selected to occupy a high position within the party and was lately removed as chief minister. (See: Is Najib an asset or liability to Umno and Barisan Nasional?)

His resignation as an Umno member earlier last week hardly created a whimper among members. If anything, Dr Mahathir’s move to “work with the enemies of Umno” to get rid of the party president will not go down well in Umno. This can be used to further strengthen Najib’s position in Umno.

Dr Mahathir may not have much support outside Umno either. Dr Mahathir made an appearance during the Bersih 4 mass rally in August last year, to get Najib to step down pending investigations into the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and there was much excitement.

How much of this excitement had translated into support? Responses in social media on the signing of the declaration on Friday are an indication.

Many are questioning his credibility in being part of the move to get Najib to resign, saying he is the one to be blamed for the present situation in the country.

Weak strategy

Mahathir now stands before the world saying he wants to get rid of Najib even if he has to swallow his pride and work with his enemies with whom there is little in common. And so the Declaration of 37 was signed on Friday but all who signed are probably aware that there is a lot more work to be done.

This declaration is nowhere near Indonesia’s Petition of 50 (Petisi 50), the document outlining how then president Suharto had defied the state philosophy Pancasila. This document played a huge role in the ouster of Suharto.

There is no mechanism that will compel Najib respond to Declaration of 37, neither in Parliament nor in Umno. “Use polls to make changes” was the quick response from Putrajaya to the signing of Declaration of 37. To expect anything beyond this would be wishful thinking. – Asean Today, March 8, 2016.

* Click here to read the full commentary.

* Vanitha Nadaraj is the Malaysian correspondent for Asean Today.