PAKATAN Harapan (PH) still needs Dr Mahathir Mohamad to lead if the coalition, ousted from government last week, is to return to power, Amanah leaders and DAP sources said.

Amanah vice-president Salahuddin Ayub said Dr Mahathir is still committed to opposing a “kleptocratic government” and stated this at a meeting with Amanah leaders in Putrajaya last night.

“Dr Mahathir still has strength and doesn’t want to walk away. He wants to continue opposing the current immoral government,” Salahuddin told The Malaysian Insight.

Amanah vice president Mahfuz Omar said Dr Mahathir gave his commitment to play an important role in PH as he cannot accept a new government formed through betrayals and the collaboration of kleptocrats.

“He gave his commitment to play an important role with PH, to work together to save Malaysia a second time from kleptocrats,” Mahfuz also told The Malaysian Insight.

However, the Amanah leaders’ meeting with Dr Mahathir last night did not discuss specific strategies for PH.

It was held amid some uncertainty about PH’s strategy after its ousting from power following Bersatu’s exit from the alliance two weeks ago, amid betrayals and politicking that saw Dr Mahathir resign as prime minister and the government fall.

Dr Mahathir has not left Bersatu, with his party currently split between those who, like him, reject any co-operation with Umno at odds with party president and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

An Amanah source who did not want to be named said he believed Dr Mahathir was focused on gaining support from within Bersatu, which is in the process of party elections.

“Dr Mahathir is not sitting idly either. He’s busy meeting Bersatu grassroots leaders and gaining support,” said the party member.

DAP also feels that the nonagenarian leader is still the best chance PH has of attracting Malay votes.

“We can continue acting as a good opposition to Perikatan Nasional but if we want to bring back reforms, we need to be in government,” an MP from the party told The Malaysian Insight, adding to do that, PH needs to convince Malay voters.

On Monday night, PH chief secretary Saifuddin Nasution Ismail also told reporters on the sidelines of an internal PH meeting that Dr Mahathir was still the coalition’s choice for prime minister, after taking questions on why the former Bersatu chairman had been invited to the meeting when the party had left the coalition.

However, the 94-year-old, however, did not attend the meeting with PKR, DAP and Amanah lawmakers and grassroots leaders.

Saifuddin, who is also PKR secretary-general, also told reporters that he was scheduled to meet Dr Mahathir after the latter returned from a weekend visit to his Langkawi constituency.

Despite this, PKR adviser Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail yesterday told Bloomberg TV in an interview it would be most likely be Anwar, and not Dr Mahathir, who would lead the country if PH formed the government again.

She said a meeting would be held to discuss PH’s leadership and scenarios involving moves to return to power.

For now, PH has to wait and see how Dr Mahathir handles the fallout in Bersatu.

Last week, he told reporters in Jitra that his party had split into two factions following Muhyiddin’s decision to pull Bersatu out of PH, triggering the coalition’s collapse.

After the pullout, Muhyiddin decided to form a new government with Barisan Nasional, PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and smaller parties from Sabah.

These parties threw their support behind Muhyiddin to become prime minister, while he took over the Bersatu chairman’s post, which Dr Mahathir had vacated.

What happens in Bersatu remains to be seen as the party’s elections are approaching with the contest for division committee members and national leaders at the supreme council yet to be decided.

Nominations for the supreme council and national posts will close on March 16.

Dr Mahathir’s son, Mukhriz, is still Bersatu deputy president and another supporter, Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, is youth chief.

Prior to the crisis, it was announced that there would be no contests for the chairman, president and deputy president’s posts, but with Bersatu now divided now, that decision is now in doubt. – March 11, 2020.