Mahathir: Nation’s Interest or Family Legacy?
Mohd Hafizan Amran
There was little surprise when Mahathir’s blue-eyed son, Mukhriz Mahathir, was named as a Deputy Prime Minister candidate for “Pakatan Harapan Plus”. After all, Mukhriz has long dabbled in national politics – although his last name seems to have been quite a baggage to carry through the years.
Mahathir had always claimed that it has never been his intention to create a “legacy” in the local scene. He had numerously touched on the subject of his children’s massive wealth, for example, as one that is as a result of hard work than the affiliation with the family name itself. But the reality is hard to ignore when the accumulated wealth of Mirzan, Mokhzani and Marina totals up to more the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of over a hundred countries.
The legacy factor is highly relevant Malaysia’s political and corporate landscape. As accumulating wealth is no longer a concern for Mahathir’s billionaire family, the real question now is if Mahathir can have a successor to his decades-old career in national politics. The most obvious answer to that seems to be Mukhriz, who had not only lost to Khairy for an UMNO Youth’s chief post, but also having been kicked out from Kedah’s Chief Minister’s office – twice.
As the supposedly “kingmaker” in Pakatan Harapan’s quest to regain control of the House, it was only logical for his allies to give what he wanted. Mahathir’s request was simple: make him a Prime Minister. Unable to convince PKR to yield their trust for the second time, Mahathir played his ultimate card by preferring Shafie Apdal to be the premier. His preference aside, it is not difficult to read that Shafie does not have as much political clout in the Peninsular to warrant a long stay as a Perdana Putra.
What was puzzling was not Mukhriz’s nomination as a Deputy Prime Minister, but the fact that Anwar Ibrahim would be sharing the same role. For a country which has ping-pongged the idea of Mahathir-Anwar rivalry for the premier post since the early 90s, this was anything but another stab in the back of PKR. Of course, with the recent betrayal within PKR, Anwar’s party is no more the largest in Pakatan Harapan to corner DAP and Amanah to boycott the deal.
Clearly, Mahathir is more concerned of Mukhriz’s political trajectory than the country’s best interest. In fact, the ongoing political problems would not even have happened had Mahathir just passed the baton to Anwar early on. Realising his limited years in politics, Mahathir realized that the last hurrah for his dynasty is not to topple Perikatan Nasional, but to ensure that Mukhriz remains relevant after his passing.
Say what he wants – Mahathir knows that there is no chance for Mukhriz to survive the shark-infested waters without him around. It was with Mahathir’s goodwill that Mukhriz remains a figurehead in national politics. Would he have won a seat had it not been for his father? Probably. But would his colleagues agree to have Mukhrim helm the prime ministership? Not without cornered by Mahathir while he is still alive.
