PEJUANG cannot sustain a political future by focusing on Najib Razak’s kleptocrat image and Muhyiddin Yassin’s backstabbing, political observers said.

The party founded by Dr Mahathir Mohamad must look beyond these issues and find a new narrative that relates more closely to issues that ordinary people face, such as the rising cost of living and the economy.

Pejuang has targeted convicted former prime minister Najib for his involvement in an array of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandals, while the party has also trained its guns on Bersatu president Muhyiddin’s betrayal of Dr Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan (PH) in 2020.

However, observers said these are morality-based issues, which if recycled too often will push voters away.

Professor Awang Azman Awang Pawi from Universiti Malaya said by attacking Najib and Muhyiddin frequently, segments of the public may end up expressing sympathy for the two former prime ministers instead of agreeing with Dr Mahathir.

“In Malay culture, there is a tendency among some to sympathise easily towards those who are being relentlessly criticised or condemned. Dr Mahathir’s tactic may backfire, and people may start to feel sorry for Najib and Muhyiddin.

“It is as if there is a personal grudge between him and the two men. It is time for Dr Mahathir to talk about national issues. Pejuang must look beyond Dr Mahathir,” the socio-political analyst said.

Awang Azman added that Pejuang should be pushing its younger leaders in the party to speak up on national issues rather than allowing Dr Mahathir to dominate headlines for the party.

Hisommudin Bakar of political think-tank Ilham Centre said Pejuang has limited space in the next general election because Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional dominate the Malay voting bloc.

“Pejuang’s target voter segment is the same as that of Umno, Bersatu and PAS. Pejuang can only hope to get a small fraction of Malay votes from the Malays who had perhaps voted for PH in the last election.”

Citing the Johor polls last month as an example, where Pejuang lost in all 42 seats it contested, the Ilham Centre executive director said the party also needs a new strategy.

“Dr Mahathir admitted that the party’s failure in Johor was due to him harping on Najib’s corruption instead of highlighting current national issues.

“To win Malay votes, anti-corruption messages, including Najib’s scandal, are not enough.”

Dr Mahathir has been attacking Najib since 2016, when he formed Bersatu with Muhyiddin, and his basis for joining PH was to topple BN under Najib, which PH did in 2018.

He continued to contend that Najib must be stopped from returning to power, warning that corruption will be Malaysia’s undoing.

Can Pejuang go solo?

Dr Mahathir was with PH for the 2018 general election and was the coalition’s prime minister until February 2020.

However, Pejuang, which he founded after PH was toppled from federal power, has opted not to be part of the opposition coalition.

It also refused to sign the Memorandum of Understanding on political stability between PH and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, and stood against PH candidates in the Johor polls last month.

If it plans to go into the next election on its own, senior fellow at Singapore Institute of International Affairs Oh Ei Sun said Pejuang would at most only make some inroads in Kedah, Dr Mahathir’s home state.

“Pejuang lacks the kind of grassroots infrastructure that is crucial to translate Dr Mahathir’s charisma into electoral performance.

“If they were to team up with some other parties with the reach, its influence could be magnified, benefiting Pejuang and its partner.”

However, Awang Azman feels there won’t be many parties lining up to do so.

“PKR will likely not accept Pejuang as Dr Mahathir does not want (PKR president and opposition leader) Anwar Ibrahim to become prime minister.

“Maybe Pejuang can work with Warisan but there is a lot for Pejuang to do if it wants to stay relevant beyond the election,” he added.

Muhyiddin’s PN approached Dr Mahathir about co-operating in the next national poll, but was rebuffed by the nonagenarian, who said he could not support someone who had stabbed him in the back.

Dr Mahathir recently recovered from a bout of poor health, during which he was hospitalised. He later said he thought it was the end for him.

Meanwhile, he has said before that he will not stand in the next general election.

Dr Mahathir’s son Mukhriz is the Pejuang president, but the elder statesman is still the party’s leading figure.

Oh noted that Pejuang did not seem to have another focal point that could draw as much support.

“They don’t have the kind of research and think-tank capacity to enable more substantive policy discourse, and Dr Mahathir appears to be its only main-selling point and not much else.” – April 6, 2022.