NO one party will be able to win 50% of the votes in the next general election, Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

He said parties will have to form a coalition to secure a majority.

“I’m confident no one will win 50% this time. There are a lot of parties contesting now, not like before when there were only two,” Dr Mahathir said at the Berjasa national sssembly today.

“No party will win enough seats to form a government on its own. The strongest party will work with another. 

“According to the anti-party hopping law, individuals cannot join another party on their own but for the whole party to do so is possible,” said the chairman of Gerakan Tanah Air.

He is also the chairman of Malay party Pejuang.

On who the new Malay bloc will work with, he said that will be decided post-general election.

“When the (election) results come in and no one has 50%, we will decide what to do.

“We don’t want to align with parties or coalitions who have their own objectives.”

The Langkawi MP said even Umno will not be able to win 50% of the votes in the next general election.

“On their own, they cannot win. The state elections were an anomaly. It won’t happen in the GE, the stakes are different,” he said.

Umno won in a landslide in the last state elections in Johor, Malacca and Sarawak.

He also rejected the possibility of working with Umno.

“As a party, I won’t invite Umno to be part of us. It is rotten from the top to bottom. We have nothing to do with Umno. There are good and bad people (in it), but as a party, no way will we work with them.

“Umno’s image has been destroyed, they are all corrupt. When we ask for support, the question they ask is how much (money) we want to give.

“They are not interested if the country goes to the dogs. This is the Umno now, not the Umno I (used to know).” – August 27, 2022.