AS Bersatu holds its second annual general meeting, and its first as a party in the ruling government, one of the key issues it must grapple with is the Malay vote.

After all, Pakatan Harapan won only 25% of the Malay-Muslim vote in GE14, with the lion’s share going to Umno (45%) and an equal number going to PAS (25%).

To Malay-Muslim voters, Bersatu must explain why it is a valid alternative to Umno, the former ruling party from which it is split.

To non-Malay voters, many of whom were captivated by the idea that a Pakatan Harapan victory would see the dismantling of race-based politics, Bersatu must justify why it needs to remain a Malay-only party.

“Suppose we had not formed Bersatu and stressed that we are a Malay party, I’m sure Najib (Razak) would have won the 14th elections,” said Dr Mahathir Mohamad in a special interview on December 18, ahead of the party’s second AGM yesterday.

The Bersatu founding member and chairman said it was important for the party to stay Malay to reassure Malays.

“They want someone to protect them and they believe only Malays can protect them. So they want this party and if we don’t cater to them, we will not get their support and we will always be losing.”

He believes PH would not have won the last elections if Bersatu were multiracial.

And now that PH has won, it makes even more sense for Bersatu to stay exclusively Malay.

“The Malays want a strong party and Bersatu is a Malay party while the rest are multiracial. If they don’t join Bersatu, where will they go? They can’t be with Umno as Umno is finished.”

But Dr Mahathir was quick to reaffirm that Bersatu would not be Umno 2.0 despite having admitted many of its members.

“Bersatu is a Malay-Bumiputera party and any Malay can join. But these people must subscribe to our ideology, where we want a party that is clean and is free from corruption and will dedicate its efforts to voters and country.”

The 93-year-old leader was speaking at the prime minister’s office in Putrajaya, after attending the funeral of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim in the morning.

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

Q: In a scenario where there are multiple parties vying for Malay support, can Bersatu grow?

Dr Mahathir: The Malays want a strong party and Bersatu is a Malay party while the rest are multiracial. If they don’t join Bersatu, where will they go? They can’t be with Umno as Umno is finished.

Malays are scared and feel threatened. If they are small, they fear they cannot get equal treatment. So, they are looking for a party to cater to them. But they can’t join PKR and Amanah, because they don’t accept multiracial parties. And they certainly cannot join DAP. So, what is their choice?

Suppose we had not formed Bersatu and stressed that we are a Malay party, I’m sure Najib (Razak) would have won the 14th elections.

Although the popular vote went to the opposition in the 13th general election, because of the structure of the constituencies, the Malays still formed the government. But they formed an incompetent crooked government, a kleptocracy.

Q: Where do you see Bersatu ahead of the second AGM?

Dr Mahathir: Bersatu didn’t do so well in the last elections and won only 13 seats. This is because we were deregistered by the government and had to contest under the Keadilan (PKR) flag.

In some places, voters do not understand that the candidate is from Bersatu although they are standing under the Keadilan logo. Maybe, because of that, they didn’t vote for us.

We lost a lot of seats. In Kedah, for example, we won the state from PAS and Umno and we should have won a lot of seats there, but we didn’t.

Apart from the places me and Mukhriz were contesting, the voters were not certain who was standing - Bersatu or Keadilan. And so we lost.

Now, we are a registered party and we can show our flag and when contesting we will use the PH logo.

Q: Will you remain Bersatu chairman upon stepping down as PM?

Dr Mahathir: I can because I’m still an MP but I’m not going to be the prime minister.

 Q: What is your message to delegates in AGM?

Dr Mahathir: We want to tell the party members that we have reorganised the government. Many don’t appreciate how hard it is to part of the government among five parties. Working in the cabinet is not an easy task.

We are not like the previous government and although I’m an outsider, I have been accepted as the prime minister.

But the fact is that there is a government and it functions as one where the work is divided to all. And we have made a lot of achievements. It’s just that it is not publicised.

We found that the civil service had been co-opted into corruption by the previous administration and hence has alliance with BN. As such, we had to move them out and replace them with new people.

Although it was hard, the government is functioning again now although it was damaged by Najib.

We have also inherited the RM1 trillion debt left by the previous government. As such, the taxes collected could not be used to pay BR1M and other financial aid etc, but is being used to repay debts.

We will help the poor but we cannot give to everyone in the hope of gaining support. Even then, the government has managed to table a budget that is bigger than the previous year’s.

People ask what we have done but what we have already achieved cannot be done by other countries. When there is a change of government in some countries, there will be unrest and attempts to topple the government but it didn’t happen here. But we cannot tell the public all the things we have done as it will affect the markets.

We have to temper what we say so that there is no negative feedback in terms of investment.

Q: Is Bersatu going to be Umno 2.0 with the joining of Umno members?

Dr Mahathir: Bersatu is a Malay Bumiputera party and any Malay can join it. But these people must subscribe to our ideology, where we want a party that is clean and is free from corruption and will dedicate their efforts to voters and country.

That is our philosophy and only those who subscribe to it may be accepted.

Q: How can Bersatu attract young voters?

Dr Mahathir: We have given room to young people. Never in the history of the country has anyone allowed a 25-year-old become a minister but us. Women too, as we have four in the cabinet today.

We believe that young people can have the calibre to negotiate with foreign powers. And we are willing to give this opportunity to younger people so that they can take over from us when they have gained sufficient experience.

Q: Are more Malaysians open to Bersatu now?

Dr Mahathir: There are more applications but we have a problem registering them as not all of the people handling it is doing it well.

Q: Can Bersatu be a party that fights for Malay interests?

Dr Mahathir: If not Bersatu, who else can do this? Not Umno of course. We are the only Malay party left. If Bersatu is not doing enough, come in and do better then. – December 29, 2018.