THE old narrative where one party is dominant than the others is over, according to Mukhriz Mahathir, who said no party will be able to win elections without a political pact.

The Pejuang president said the country must be ready to accept the “new normal” of having multiple political parties.

“The era where a party dominates the other in a coalition is over. The era of Umno in Barisan Nasional is no more.

“There is no party that can win in an election if they go alone. They can’t form a government solo.

“We have to accept that (having multiple political parties) is a new normal,” Mukhriz told The Malaysian Insight on Thursday.

Such a view leads to questions about former Bersatu youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s party.

Mukhriz’s father, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, previously played Syed Saddiq’s move to form a youth party, saying that the former youth and sports minister would fail.

Former minister Rafidah Aziz also took a swipe at Syed Saddiq for crafting the idea of a youth party, calling it as an attempt to divide the nation.

However, Mukhriz chose a softer approach saying both parties may need each other’s help.

“I understand why he chose that path. I will not stop him. I hope that we can still be close and we could cooperate and have an understanding.

“What my father meant when he said Syed Saddiq will fail is how is Syed Saddiq going to win an election if he concentrates on only the youth.

“If he wants to contest in an urban seat, the number of young voters is small. Young voters are based in rural areas, such as Gua Musang or Kuala Terengganu.

“However, in such area, you need a Malay-based party to win. This is what Tun meant. That is why I said, there needs to be a cooperation. Maybe Pejuang can help his party to win the Malay votes, and they can help us win youth votes.”

Syed Saddiq together with 30 individuals held a closed-door meeting at Kelab Sultan Sulaiman to form a youth-based party.

An announcement will be made “very soon”, said Syed Saddiq, who chaired the three-hour meeting.

Among the attendees were former Permodalan Nasional Bhd CEO Abdul Jalil Rasheed, and start-up founders Vinesh Sinha (FatHopes Energy), Liew Ooi Hann (RinggitPlus), Nadhir Shafiq (TheLorry) and Radzi Tajuddin (Hi Home), he said.

“Not all of them are entrepreneurs. We also have lawyer Lim Wei Jiat, Amir Abdul Hadi from Suara Rakyat Malaysia, Orang Asli activist Shaq Koyak, child rights advocate Syed Azmi (Alhabshi) and teacher Cheryl Ann Fernando (whose experiences are chronicled in the) Adiwiraku film.”

Bersatu sacked Syed Saddiq, along with Dr Mahathir Mohamad and five others, for supporting the opposition when president Muhyiddin Yassin took the party out of Pakatan Harapan and teamed up with BN, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak to form Perikatan Nasional.

The Muar MP said he will form a youth party with a lateral leadership structure, with plans to contest in both urban and rural seats.

The outfit won’t side with either PH or PN, he said. – September 13, 2020.