KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is trying hard not to get Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) and the Malaysia United Democratic Alliance (Muda) registered as political parties so he can call an early general election and win it, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said Muhyiddin is hoping he will have no Opposition parties competing against him, which will increase his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (Bersatu) chances of winning without contest.
“Muhyiddin may attempt to call an early general election while Pejuang and Muda are not registered. Pejuang is not tied to any other party. Pejuang hopes to be a third power. Muhyddin’s hopes are that he won’t face his enemies,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his personal blog today.
Pejuang had its registration cancelled by the Registrar of Societies (RoS) in January. That same month, Muda confirmed that its registration application had been rejected by the RoS.
Both parties were aiming to make an impact at the next general election.
In the same blog post, Dr Mahathir claimed that Muhyiddin’s Bersatu has already placed orders for election paraphernalia such as flags, placards and banners, and discussed the distribution of seats with its coalition partners in Perikatan Nasional (PN), PAS and Umno.
He said that since the party was not approved, Pejuang candidates will have to stand as independents.
“This will confuse the people as we can’t use Pejuang flags and symbols. Maybe Pejuang will have to contest using another party’s name like Bersatu did in the previous general election with PKR flags and symbols.
“This too can confuse the public. If we try to negotiate with PKR, they may not agree to share their constituencies with Pejuang. Hence, no support will be given, and as such, Pejuang will lose,” he said.
Dr Mahathir however warned that Bersatu is now a multiracial party, and therefore, will not secure a resounding victory at the polls.
He said Umno and PAS only gave the prime minister’s post to Muhyiddin because they could only be the ruling coalition if Bersatu left Pakatan Harapan for Muafakat Nasional.
“The one who had the numbers was Azmin with his PKR alliance. Indirectly, Azmin was given a top post but not made deputy prime minister,” Dr Mahathir said of Senior Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
“The political landscape after the 15th general election will not be very different from now but Muhyiddin will not be the prime minister.
“Pejuang won’t be the government but Pejuang’s support will determine who becomes the government. Our support is conditional on our acceptance,” he added.
