Dr M As Polls Candidate Pas Will Suffer Says Analyst

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Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been rumoured to be an election candidate for PAS. However an analyst says Mahathir should not end his political career this way.PETALING JAYA: PAS could hurt itself should the party decide to field former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the coming Kemaman parliamentary by-election, an analyst said.
Mahathir’s recent close association with the party and Perikatan Nasional has led to rumours that Mahathir will be the PAS candidate in Kemaman.
However, Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid of Universiti Sains Malaysia said PAS will suffer a reduced majority from its victory in the general election last year as some sections of the party will be reluctant to vote for Mahathir, a former Umno president.
Citing Mahathir’s negative remarks about PAS during his premiership as a key factor, Fauzi said those comments could come back to haunt the former two-time prime minister, should he stand.
Besides, Fauzi added that Mahathir’s age and health would work against him.
“It would be better if Mahathir served only as an inspirational figure in Perikatan Nasional’s ceramahs as he has already reached the peak of his career twice, spanning nearly 25 years.
“There is no need to end his political life as an MP of PAS, a party he often criticised throughout his leadership,” Fauzi told FMT.
On Wednesday, a source close to Mahathir told FMT that PAS was likely to field Mahathir as he would be able to “better raise the state issues” as an MP and allow him to be a more effective “check and balance” on Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.
However, PAS vice president Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said the party had not discussed its candidate for the by-election.
The Kemanan seat was won by Che Alias Hamid of PAS with a 27,179-vote majority in a four-cornered contest in the 2022 general election.
However, the victory was anulled by an election court last month after finding that the payment of i-Belia and i-Siswa aid to voters during the campaign period constituted bribery.
Another analyst, Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, said if Mahathir became the PAS candidate in Kemaman, it would signal the party’s intention for him to play a much larger role than simple adviser.
He added that such a strategy is to balance out Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s strength as the current opposition MPs could not match up to Anwar’s level in the parliament.
“Mahathir is viewed as someone capable of facing off against Anwar. It (the parliament) is also set to become a new battleground between these two archenemies,” Mazlan said.
Bersatu’s Wan Saiful Wan Jan said PAS has the prerogative to decide on the candidate for the Kemaman by-election.
However, he said Mahathir had played a tremendous role as an elder statesman . “In the current context, Mahathir plays an appropriate role in his current status (as a statesman), he can give his views to any MP at any time. All PN MPs always welcome his thoughts and views,” Wan Saiful said. - FMT

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