PH weaker now without Bersatu, says Dr Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR - The Pakatan Harapan (PH) of today is weaker than what they were back in 2018 when they faced the 14th General Election (GE14), says Pejuang Chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said the Opposition block had been affected by their lost of support especially from the Malays when Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) left PH.

“During GE15 there were four parties and one of them was Bersatu, which was for the first time brought Malays into PH to defeat (former prime minister Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak) but now, Bersatu has left PH.

“PH is now only left with three parties and these three parties does not the support of the Malays from Bersatu.

“For example, we know in the past DAP without the Malay support could only win 18 to 20 seats but when Bersatu joined PH, DAP had 40 victories,” he told Sinar Daily in an episode of Fireside Chat recently.

Dr Mahathir also said Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) had also lost quite a considerable amount of numbers or supporters because former deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali had left the party in order to join Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at Bersatu.

Azmin’s jump to Bersatu together with a few other top leaders post-GE14 in February 2020 triggered the fall of the PH government, coining the term Sheraton Move.

On the Sheraton Move, Dr Mahathir said many people were upset as it negates the will of the people.

“The people had already chosen their government but the Sheraton Move disregard the wishes of the people and through the hopping of members of the government to the Opposition, they were able to install a government which is against the wishes of the people.

“Again this is not democratic but it have no legal obstruction,” he said.

When asked if the event could impact GE15 results, he simply said: “I think it should but people are very forgetful,”.

Watch the full episode of Fireside Chat with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad which airs 4pm today.