The 98-year-old has criticised PAS in the past, saying among other things that the party abused Islam to serve its political goals.
Dr Mahathir was Malaysia’s prime minister from July 1981 to Oct 2003 and again from May 2018 to Feb 2020.
In the 15th general election last year, Dr Mahathir failed to defend his Langkawi seat, losing his deposit after finishing fourth in a five-cornered fight.Â
It was his first electoral defeat in 53 years.
Since failing to defend his seat, he has authored a Malay Proclamation that purportedly aims to protect the interests of Malays.
The 12-point document is also intended at uniting the community to “restore the political power of Malays”.
Dr Mahathir has also warned about the potential erosion of Malay rights under the current government.
Earlier this month, Dr Mahathir said that a multiracial Malaysia will erode Malay rights and make them “poor”.
His campaign for PN comes on the heels of a recent meeting with its chairman Muhyiddin Yassin, believed to be the first since the so-called “Sheraton Move” in 2020 when a number of Members of Parliament (MPs) defected from the then-ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.
This triggered the collapse of the short-lived PH government led by Dr Mahathir, paving the way for Muhyiddin to take up the mantle as Malaysia’s next prime minister.Â
Dr Mahathir had previously called Muhyiddin a traitor for his role in the Sheraton Move. Â
Polling for the upcoming six state elections in Malaysia will take place on Aug 12, with nomination day on Jul 29.
The six states – Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan – did not hold their state elections concurrently with the 15th general election (GE15) on Nov 19 last year. They instead dissolved their legislative assemblies last month.
There are 45, 32, 36, 40, 56, and 36 seats in the respective state assemblies.
Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah are under the rule of PAS, which is a member of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition together with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Parti Gerakan Malaysia (Gerakan).
Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and Penang are under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition which leads the current unity government.
PH will be working together with former rivals Barisan Nasional (BN) in the state elections, which many observers say will be a crucial test for the unity government. Â
After the last general election resulted in a hung parliament, BN became part of the unity government, together with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Parti Warisan.
PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as prime minister on Nov 24 last year.
More than 9.7 million people will be eligible to cast their votes during the state elections.
Source: CNA
