KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - All eyes are on opposition pact Perikatan Nasional's use of 'deadly' trio 'MMH' - comprising Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin Yassin and Hadi Awang - in the Pelangai state seat by-election.
Bets are on that the strategy will deal a huge blow to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is already under pressure for back-pedaling on election promises, including freeing his deputy Zahid Hamidi from corruption charges.
"Anwar is steadily losing popularity among the non-Malays. And among the Malays, there is no way he can match young and fast-rising new leaders like Kedah MB Sanusi and Terengganu MB Samsuri," an analyst who asked to stay anonymous told Politics Now!
SANUSI & SAMSURI THE NEW MALAY HEROES, ANWAR THE 'SHIOK SENDIRI' STALE BREAD
Indeed, in the Malay heartlands, the rise and promotion of a crop of dynamic second tier leaders to first tier has pushed the once lazy PAS party into national prominence. Sanusi and Samsuri are the new Malay heroes, successfully taking over from Hadi and the late Nik Aziz.
"Malays especially in the rural areas, and Pelangai is semi-rural, won't even think twice whose 'ceramah' (rally) they prefer to attend. Sanusi and Samsuri will win hands down and leave Anwar far behind. Even Hadi and Mahathir will benefit from their popularity," the analyst added.
POWER CORRUPTS & ANWAR IS THE NEW EMPEROR WITHOUT CLOTHES?
Indeed, Anwar has not been able to regain influence with the Malays, who are the country's main electorate. ever since he was jailed by Mahathir over sodomy and corruption charges in the 1990s.
Nevertheless, he managed to hang on due to support from non-Malays, who saw him as their only hope from the bullying and race-centric regimes of the past. However, since finally becoming PM late last year, Anwar is now seen to be the typical hypocritical leader, adept at reneging on his word and relying on stale 'reformist' narratives that he has not hesitated to flip-flop on.
"The moment he comes to power, the promises fly out the door" is the common complaint that now rings out when Anwar's hold on his unity government is discussed. Also angering the people is the behavior of his political lackeys, who perhaps to retain their cushy posts have begun demanding that he is treated like "the new Emperor without clothes and everybody must praise him".
NEW SENSE OF DIRECTION FOR 'TANAH MELAYU'
Meanwhile, according to PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, PN will roll out the 'big guns' next week in an all-out bid to wrest the semi-rural seat from Umno.
”Muhyiddin Yassin, Azmin Ali and Hamzah Zainudin will be joining us on Oct 3,” Tuan Ibrahim told the media.
But it is Hadi and Mahathir along with Sanusi and Samsuri who will be watched the most, after a new alliance named SG4 was announced in which ex-prime minister Mahathir was appointed to advise on the economy of the four state governments already under PAS control, namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis.
Hadi, perhaps the most influential of them all, is the leader of PAS the party with the most parliamentary seats in the Perikatan (PN) opposition pact. Muhyiddin is the PN as well as Bersatu chief, Azmin is the Selangor PN chief while Hamzah is PN secretary-general Hamzah Zainuddin.
According analyst Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara, Mahathir’s presence was in line with the PN narrative that Malay political power is under threat with the presence of DAP as allies of Umno in the unity government at federal level.
Mahathir, Muhyiddin and Hadi have successfully positioned themselves as protectors of Malay and Islamic rights, Azmi was reported as saying in Free Malaysia Today.
The trio, who have been pitching to Malays that their racial and religious rights are under threat, can be expected to further the hate-narrative that DAP is too strong and Anwar too weak to control the Chinese-led party, while Umno is also too weak to defend and protect the Malays from the non-Malays.
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