KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — Malaysia’s longest-serving former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has the “best chance” to forge a cohesive opposition front that can go toe-to-toe against the might of the Barisan Nasional (BN) ruling coalition at the next general elections, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said today.

The former de facto law minister noted the disparate opposition parties and the idea to set up yet another political platform floated yesterday by former deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin following his expulsion from Umno, the BN lynchpin.

“Dr Mahathir has now the best chance to give birth to a new Malaysia (and to redeem himself) if he truly wants all Malaysian to live together happily, as equals, to become prosperous and liberal democracy as stated in Vision 2020.

“There are not many Malays left who want Malaysia as a democracy, as many prefer hudud and muftis as lawmakers but Tun has to find them and persuade them to form a real coalition of opposition forces… this is the only way to Save Malaysia,” Zaid wrote in his latest blog post.

The former Kota Baru MP — who has been with Umno and PKR as well as founded his own political party after quitting both — criticised the current existing opposition parties as posing a real threat to BN as their partnership was only for their own political expediency.

He listed six core issues that a “real” opposition pact would be capable of dealing with if it wanted to win over voters and take Putrajaya at the next elections due by 2018.

Number one, he said, the opposition parties must be united in wanting a democratic Malaysia, adding that for this to happen, the parties must reject any proposal for a religious state.

Secondly, Zaid said the rule of law must be applicable to all and that laws must be fair, and called for laws that “secrecy laws” that “protected leaders” be removed.

He also said the opposition must make clear its stand against all racial, religious and other forms of “hate politics” that discriminate against any individual or group in all forms and push for government institutions like the Election Commission, police and enforcement agencies to be independent and transparent.

Zaid also said if the opposition parties wanted to be taken seriously, they should set up a shadow Cabinet to provide alternative policies to voters rather than run down their political foes through personal character attacks or through their family members.

PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently called for the opposition to close ranks after their stunning defeat in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections.

Without revealing much details, the jailed leader said it was necessary for the opposition to "pull together" if they wanted to present themselves as a viable alternative to BN at the federal contest.

As for former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin and ex-Kedah MB Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mohamed, who were both expelled from Umno for their alleged involvement with the opposition, they have indicated that they would be starting a new political platform to highlight the country's problem.