DR Mahathir Mohamad yesterday used his newfound friendship with a Mohamad Sabu, whom he once jailed, to prove a point to Pakatan Harapan supporters.

Just as he and Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, have reconciled their painful histories, PH supporters, too, needed to put the past behind them so that they take down current Prime Minister Najib Razak.

This was the gist of a message that the former prime minister, Mat Sabu and other PH leaders delivered at the launch of a roadshow on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal in Shah Alam.

The second ceramah in the nationwide roadshow was less of an explainer on 1MDB and more of a chance for the PH leadership to unify its activists after weeks of friction.

In fact, the crowd of mostly urban PH supporters told The Malaysian Insight they were familiar with aspects of the scandal already.

“We wanted to put all the leaders on the same stage so that members and the public can for the first time, see our unified leadership,” said PH leader Khalid Samad of the component party Amanah.

PH compromises of DAP, PKR, Amanah and Bersatu, which Dr Mahathir currently leads.

The Shah Alam ceramah, which attracted a 2,000 strong audience of mostly PH supporters, is the first official programme by the coalition after it announced its leadership line-up.

Dr Mahathir and Mat Sabu’s speeches were meant to allay lingering doubts among die-hard opposition supporters on whether to trust the same man who stripped away civil liberties and even jailed them.

Dr Mahathir shared a story of how he gave Mat Sabu, now the Amanah president, a seat on a private jet from Kuala Lumpur to Johor recently.

Mat Sabu had missed his own flight to Johor Baru.

“I offered him a seat on the plane, but even if there were no seats, he could still sit on the floor,” said Dr Mahathir.

“After all we are all one pakatan,” Dr Mahathir said to laughter from the audience.

“Let us the past behind us about maha firaun (the most tyrannical) and maha zalim (the cruellest). Let’s move on,” implored Dr Mahathir.

The two were nicknames PKR, DAP and Amanah supporters once used for Dr Mahathir, whose 22-year rule was defined by clampdowns on political dissent.

About two weeks ago, Dr Mahathir mended fences with another arch-nemesis, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

In 1999, after being fired from Dr Mahathir’s cabinet, Anwar was jailed on charges of abuse of power, allegedly on instructions from the top.

Now, both share the responsibility of leading PH.

Mat Sabu said he could not have imagined that he would one day, be invited to join Dr Mahathir on a private jet.

He had been detained under the Op Lalang dragnet against civil society and political activists in 1987, when Dr Mahathir was prime minister.

“When I meet people now, they don’t ask me when are the elections. They just give me the thumbs-up,” Mat Sabu said, referring to how PH’s new line-up has made the coalition an attractive alternative again to the ruling Barisan Nasional.

The line-up is necessary for PH to register itself to enable it to go into the next general election with a common flag and logo.

Analysts have said this was critical if PH is to present itself as viable alternative to BN.

The mending of fences appeared to resonate with PH activists, who say they’ve been waiting for their leaders to come together despite their difficult histories.

“Anwar himself was an Umno member, but he came out to fight the system,” said Petaling Jaya Utara Amanah activist Raja Firdaus Raja Shaffiq.

“So if Anwar is reconciled with Dr Mahathir, and Dr Mahathir has admitted to some of his mistakes, then I don’t see why we should shun him.”

Raja Firdaus, who took part in the first Reformasi protests against Dr Mahathir said he accepted the latter’s presence in PH.

Another PH activist Zul A. Talib said he accepted Dr Mahathir’s transformation from foe to friend.

“What we don’t like is tyranny, abuse of power and financial scandals. If the current deputy prime minster (Ahmad Zahid Hamadi) were to join us, I, too, would support him.” – July 18, 2017.