Dr Mahathir Mohamad never ceases to amaze. At 97 years of age, he is again contesting for a seat in Parliament in the hope of becoming prime minister for a third time.
I marvel at his tenacity.
After filing his nomination papers on Nov 5 for the Langkawi parliamentary seat, which he won under Pakatan Harapan in 2018, the Pejuang chairman said he was defending the seat because he had “yet to finish my job”.
Leaving aside politics, there is an important life lesson in this for all of us. This is how we should face life – with a never say die attitude. Whatever life throws at us, we should strive to overcome it and keep trying until we achieve success or “finish my job”.
Mahathir, who was prime minister for 22 years from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020, said he didn’t want to contest in this general election (GE15) but felt compelled to do so as he did not “complete his last term”.
He told reporters who asked him about his decision to contest given his age : “I am still standing around and talking to you, I think, giving reasonable answers. I am not as old as my age, but I have been fortunate that I am able to function just as well as younger people.”
You must admire him for his answer. If the world needs a poster boy for longevity, he’s my choice.
He had previously told the media that his supporters wanted him to lead one last charge to “right the wrongs” of his previous party Umno after he left office in 2003 and that he would not still be in politics if he was merely thinking about himself.
The man who turned Malaysia into one of the fast developing nations in the 1980s and 1990s believes he has what it takes to do it again, and lift Malaysia out of the political and economic morass it is stuck in.
He has also said he wants to “save” the nation from falling into the hands of kleptocrats again and to arrest corruption that has spread like wildfire.
Mahathir doesn’t want Umno to win because he says that would be an endorsement by voters of corruption. It would also mean, he claims, Najib Razak, who is in jail for graft, would be pardoned, paving the way for his return to politics, even as prime minister.
Whatever his reasons, I can’t help but admire his belief that he still has what it takes not just to “save” the nation but to also set it on course for a bright future.
If a 97-year-old man can go around campaigning for his coalition of parties because he wants to save the nation, what excuse do the rest of us have in not wanting to come out to vote? Not only does Mahathir have a weak heart, for which he has undergone surgery, he only recovered from Covid-19 very recently.
What’s our excuse as voters? The least all of us can do is come out on Nov 19 to cast our ballots and do our duty as citizens while also asserting our right.
Certainly, the man who first won a parliamentary seat in 1964 ushered in rapid economic transformation and put Malaysia on the international map during his first stint as prime minister. But this is 2022.
This is the third decade of the 21st century. The world has undergone tremendous changes and his earlier ideas and strategies are unlikely to work. He is still stuck in his “Malay dilemma” days and has failed to embrace the new Malaysia that people are yearning for.
He does not have anything new to offer and that will work against him. Respect for one’s age and experience, and previous accomplishments, can only take you so far.
I sometimes wonder if he has become a political dinosaur, repeating the same complaints and ideas. But he surprises with his political agility.
As a tactician, for example, he is still a master. Knowing that Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional would not want to work with him, and knowing that this would toll the death knell for Pejuang and his son’s political ambitions, he went straight to Malay NGOs which share his Malay-centric thinking.
He craftily started a new coalition called Gerakan Tanah Air or GTA with these NGOs, giving Pejuang a broader base of support and a chance of winning some seats.
Even after forming GTA, he tried to hook up with PH and PN to improve his chances of becoming prime minister for a third time but, unfortunately for him, they were not interested.
But Mahathir never gives up and he has decided to go ahead with GTA, which, it was reported, is fielding 116 parliamentary candidates.
The wily politician knows, of course, that he can’t win 112 seats or even 50 to take the lead in forming a government but he is hoping that GTA will pick up enough seats to be able to negotiate with the coalition that wins the most number of seats.
This is because, most politicians and analysts believe, no single party will be able to win 112 seats to have a simple majority. The current view is that the winning coalition – whether PH or PN or BN – will have to cooperate with other coalitions or parties to form a government.
Mahathir is hoping that GTA will be that coalition. However, he insists he will not work with BN even if it wins, as Umno, he claims, is out to save its members facing corruption charges.
Also, if GTA wins some seats, a father will be able to give his son a leg up.
In the 2018 general election, some saw Mahathir as a saviour but if anyone today sees him as a saviour it is likely to be a Mahathir loyalist or supporter.
Voters, especially in urban and semi-urban areas, gave Mahathir a second bite at the apple, hoping that he would, working with other PH partners, bring about promised reforms. It didn’t happen, and some blame him for “bungling” his second chance.
Given this situation, it is doubtful if GTA can win even 10 parliamentary seats. And if GTA were to lose all the seats contested, it would indeed be a sad end to Mahathir’s colourful, checkered political career.
