Mahathir sees his new party playing ‘kingmaker’
Published on: Saturday, August 08, 2020
By: Malay Mail
.jpg "Mahathir sees his new party playing ‘kingmaker’")
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad arrives for a media conference at the Pullman Kuala Lumpur in Bangsar August 7, 2020. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
Kuala Lumpur: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pic) said his new “independent” Malay party to be “kingmaker” in the next general election.Recalling his experience in 1969, when he lost the general election in Kota Star Selatan, Kedah, due to 5,000 non Malay votes split between him and his opponent, Dr Mahathir said:
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“We may not have enough (numbers) to form a government, but we can be a party that determines who will win.
“When there are two groups, we want to be the decider (of who will win),” he told mostly Parti Pribumi Bersatu (Bersatu) grassroot members, who gathered at Pullman Hotel, Bangsar here.
He was responding to a question asked on whether the new party will be able to survive on its own to champion the people’s plight.
In 1969 Dr Mahathir lost his parliamentary seat and left Umno in the same year. It was then that he wrote the book, The Malay Dilemma, 11 years before he became Prime Minister in 1994.
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Dr Mahathir also added that the party will remain “independent” and not “tied” to anyone.
“We want to be different from the rest. And to do this we need to be independent and not tied to anyone,” he said.
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In his address to Bersatu grassroots and supporters, he also called out future members to join the party for the betterment of the country.
“I remember when I was leading Umno as president one of the party leaders came to me, said he didn’t gain anything in the last 20 years with the party.
“I asked him about his village and he said it’s good and that all the roads are tarred.
“I also asked him about his house, whether he has electricity and water, he said yes. And about his children, he said his son got a scholarship to study abroad.
“This kind of person, (even with all that) he said he didn’t get anything for himself. This is an example of a person who is only interested in self-interest and not the party’s struggle,” he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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