Dr M’s backing of DAP necessary to keep his own political ambitions alive, say analysts
“It is obvious that Dr Mahathir realises that he has lost support not only from his former party but the Malays in general. With Umno and PAS’ strong grip on the Malays, Dr Mahathir has no choice but to back DAP in order to make him relevant politically come the 15th general election.
(MMO) – While the nation continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, tensions between former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and current incumbent Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is once again on the rise, with political tit-for-tat taking place between both parties.
This includes a recent blog post, in which Dr Mahathir, who is also the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairman, came to the defence of former ally DAP, lamenting that Malays could not see that the party was not its worst enemy.
This apparent pivot to prop up DAP is seen as a means for Dr Mahathir to not only remain politically relevant but to ensure his public support, analysts have suggested.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) geostrategist Azmi Hassan stated that Dr Mahathir is left with very few options as he is bleeding overall Malay support.