DR Mahathir Mohamad’s latest party has failed to ignite the interest of his Langkawi constituents even as sacked Bersatu grassroots leaders and members believe more will quit to join Pejuang, which applied for registration yesterday.

From random interviews with Langkawi folk, several told The Malaysian Insight they are unclear about Pejuang’s purpose and did not see the need for so many Malay parties.

Unlike Bersatu, which Dr Mahathir co-founded in 2016 and led during the 14th general election in 2018 with Pakatan Harapan, Pejuang is at a disadvantage and weaker position compared with Umno and PAS.

Putra Iqmal Hashim said if Pejuang is to contest in Langkawi, it might find votes hard to come by even though Dr Mahathir is popular on the tax-free island.

“PAS and Umno are already strong together in Muafakat Nasional,” Putra Iqmal said of the political pact between the two Malay parties.

“I observe that people in Langkawi also want a strong Malay entity and are supportive of PAS and Umno’s move to unite under Muafakat,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Yesterday, de facto Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir led a group of supporters to submit their application to get the party registered with the Registrar of Societies.

He also provided the rationale for the party logo, saying it sports a Jawi character to symbolise “Pejuang” and that the three dots above stand for religion, faith and the Rukun Negara.

Dr Mahathir announced the establishment of Pejuang on August 7, saying the party would uphold the Malay struggles that other Malay parties have neglected to do.

He also described the new party as a fighter of kleptocracy and corruption, the founding principles of Bersatu.

The founding members of Pejuang are from Bersatu, which recently purged nearly 300 members, including assemblymen and supreme council members loyal to Dr Mahathir.

Putra Iqmal, however, felt voters are tired of Dr Mahathir because of unkept promises in PH’s election manifesto.

“In the beginning, he wanted Bersatu to overthrow Najib Razak, now he is not in line with (Bersatu president) Muhyiddin (Yassin) and he wants to form a new party.

“Langkawi people find it difficult to understand Dr Mahathir’s real motives even though we still respect him as a statesman.”

Dr Mahathir has been an elected representative since the 1960s but first contested Langkawi, a federal seat in Kedah, in the last general election and won.

His name is also popular in Langkawi because of his policies to develop the island into an international tourism destination during his first tenure as prime minister from 1981 to 2003.

Another island resident, Mohd Ikhwan Mohd Sanusi from Sg Menghulu, said he and his friends have no interest to join Pejuang.

He said they still remember one of Dr Mahathir’s past criticisms of Malays who formed new political parties as platforms for themselves or as a way to have positions.

“In July 2019, he said Malays are not clever in politics and just want to hold positions. He said this when he was trying to get people to join Bersatu,” Ikhwan said.

Many are still puzzled as to why Dr Mahathir resigned as prime minister in late February, which led to PH’s collapse, he added.

“He has given many reasons, but none is strong.”

Dr Mahathir said several times he was “forced” to resign when Muhyiddin Yassin unilaterally took Bersatu out of PH.

Since Bersatu was his party, it no longer being part of government meant he had to resign as prime minister, Dr Mahathir said.

Bersatu sacked Dr Mahathir and several other Bersatu MPs aligned with him in late May.

Langkawi Bersatu youth chief Amar Pared said he did not see the logic or feasibility of starting yet another party. But he said he still supported Dr Mahathir’s principle of fighting corruption.

“If every party has a problem, are members supposed to leave and form a new party? How many parties would there be? What will the people think?”

Amar also welcomed Bersatu’s plans to join MN.

“When the three biggest Malay parties agree to make peace and collaborate, this is the best choice for the people.”

“Everyone wants to be on the side of a winning party,” Amar said, adding that Pejuang as a new party will have a hard time gaining support because popular Malay sentiment is already with Muhyiddin because of his leadership as prime minister.

“The government today has carried out its responsibility of looking after the welfare of the people amid the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Former Langkawi Bersatu member Shukor Bahari is one of the few confident that Pejuang stands a chance of replacing Bersatu in the constituency.

He put it down to Dr Mahathir’s personality and fighting spirit.

“Dr Mahathir has no choice but to build a new party because he himself has been kicked out of Bersatu for standing on the principle of fighting kleptocracy.

“It’s impossible for him to re-join Umno. So, forming a new party is the right option.”

Shukor said more than 2,000 members of Langkawi Bersatu are waiting to join Pejuang.

“If a general election is held, I am confident that Dr Mahathir will still remain in Langkawi because many of his followers are here.” – August 20, 2020.