sideviews
The unlikely alliance – Sin Chew Daily
It is not at all surprising to see former foes coming together to form an alliance against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as there are no eternal foes in politics, just interests.
It comes as a refreshing eye-opener in this country that for the first time ever, old political rivals have sat down together and held hands for some specific cause.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched the Citizens' Declaration with opposition leaders and NGOs days ago to exert pressure on the prime minister to step down.
The star-studded line-up at last Friday's press conference managed to create some waves and lure eyeballs among the public, but it is yet to be seen whether the momentum built on that day could snowball into a determined force to take Najib out of office.
Many critics are of the opinion that the success rate of the anti-Najib alliance is low, and even foreign media believe Najib could survive the move to topple him.
As a matter of fact, the prime minister's position will not be at stake even if the Citizens' Declaration has succeeded in getting one million people to sign.
The most critical factor is the stand and attitude of Umno leaders. From the show of unity in last year's Umno assembly to the hushed reactions following the removal of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, it is obvious that Najib is in firm control of the party.
But from the perspective of political manoeuvre, the main purpose of the anti-Najib alliance or the Citizens' Declaration is not just to bring down Najib, but to build up the momentum to exert pressure on the government.
Judging from the current state of affairs, it appears that there is no way the anti-Najib alliance will ever succeed in bringing down Najib.
However, if Dr Mahathir can sustain or even leverage on this force, given the emergence of specific favourable developments, such as a thumping defeat on the part of Barisan Nasional or Umno in the next general election, it may work.
The forced resignation of former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was not effectuated overnight but over some time as the opposition forces within the party gathered steam.
Today, Dr Mahathir is doing the same thing but with a different target and new allies.
From here we can see that the Dr Mahathir-Najib feud is not going to end anytime soon. The anti-Najib alliance is only a part of his strategy.
Dr Mahathir's pressing task now is to keep the momentum going, and this is by no means a simple one as it entails highly complicated political feuds as well as differing political stands and ideologies.
While politicians can lay down their past grudges for a common cause, what about their supporters?
Will they grow sceptical or repulsive to this unlikely union? This is one tough issue the anti-Najib alliance needs to confront.
Mishandling of this could lead to a premature death of the alliance before the prime minister's position is weakened in the slightest. – Mysinchew.com, March 7, 2016.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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