In the fight for legitimacy, Mahathir has lost

LETTER | What Dr Mahathir Mohamad has just said confirms that he has not commanded a majority from his meeting with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong yesterday. It’s an epic failure plunging from the commanding height of the unity government of 222 party-less individual MPs on the morning of Tuesday, Feb 25.

Mahathir is now putting a gun at Pakatan Harapan’s head. Harapan has only three choices:

1) Accept Mahathir’s one-man government of technocrats and selected leaders;

2) Harapan will be in the opposition, while Muhyiddin Yassin forms a Malay government of 130 seats (Umno, PAS, Bersatu, GPS, Warisan and Azmin Ali’s faction). This is basically Azmin’s design in the ‘Sheraton Move’; and

3) Go for a snap general election.

Mahathir assumes that Harapan is afraid of an option that is favoured by Umno and PAS. There may be an element of miscalculation on Mahathir’s part here.

If Pakatan calls his bluff and sticks together, then Warisan and GPS would have to make a choice. Are Warisan and GPS better off with Muhyiddin's or Anwar’s coalition?

Muhyiddin’s coalition will be one without legitimacy. It is basically a coalition of thieves who play race politics to continue kleptocracy.

Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan coalition was the one that was given the mandate by the voters on May 9, 2018.

The best-case scenario is for Mahathir to offer himself to return to Pakatan. But then, that would be an option which he has been trying to avoid, as it involves accommodating Anwar Ibrahim.

The Muhyiddin all-Malay coalition actually cannot face an election together. Umno, PAS and Bersatu would cannibalise each other in a general election.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.