In an interview Friday, he told The Associated Press that Malaysia’s ruling coalition is unlikely to call for early elections due to political conflicts and predicts his recent ethnic Malay party will probably be an influence broker in the following polls.
“We will not form the government ourselves… we are a third party. We believe that we are not very big, but big enough that we can act as an intermediary in the country,” said the two-time prime minister.
But Muhyiddin’s government is shaky, with only a slim two-seat majority in parliament, and he faces pressure from his allies to call for early elections.
[Muhyiddin] he’s not so sure about calling for an election now unless he wants to commit suicide
Mahathir said Muhyiddin would likely try to hold on until 2023 rather than seek quick polls. His Bersatu overshadows Najib’s party, which will want to regain the position of prime minister after the elections, he said.
Muhyiddin created a bloated cabinet and appointed politicians to replace specialists running government-linked companies in order to buy their support, he said. Recently, the government also withdrew from the proposed bill limiting the prime minister’s term of office to two terms.
“I want to win the KSM title… ‘kerja sampai mati’ (work until I die),” Mahathir said. “If I can do something about corruption, I will probably be glad, that is all. I’m not talking about legacy. What people take into consideration me doesn’t matter to me because I’ll die and be gone.
Muhyiddin more popular than Mahathir, but not amongst Chinese-Malaysians: survey
Muhyiddin more popular than Mahathir, but not amongst Chinese-Malaysians: survey
“It can be [also] will probably be very harmful to global relations because this man is irrational,” he said.
“Not all American presidents are superb. Many of them make mistakes, but he’s worse. If he’s re-elected, I feel sorry for America and the remaining of the world,” Mahathir said.
