ADUN SPEAKS | Is Malacca election going to be Bersatu's Waterloo?

ADUN SPEAKS | Is the former prime minister and current leader of Bersatu party Muhyiddin Yassin telling us that he not only masterminded the formation of the party but was the prime cause of the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government?

Maybe, he is right in saying that the formation of Bersatu was his initiative after he was sacked from Umno.

He was removed for questioning former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak for the latter’s alleged involvement in the 1MDB scandal.

It is clear that it was Muhyiddin who worked clandestinely to undermine the Harapan government from the start.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad knew about these sinister moves but kept silent to ensure that such moves would be able to checkmate PKR and DAP.

Anti-Chinese sentiments

The rapid rise of anti-Chinese sentiments in general and against the DAP was not the work of some mysterious forces or termed as the "deep state" then.

The deep state was nothing but the forces headed by Muhyiddin with the knowledge of Mahathir to undermine the legitimate government of Harapan.

The Harapan government was caught unprepared to the extent that it had placed trust in Mahathir to take control of the situation.

Mahathir was responsible for pinching the baby and rocking it to sleep at the same time.

In fact, a master plan was hatched and executed with near precision to ensure that the multi-racial government would not last too long.

Mahathir was both an accomplice as well as an arch egoist who had his own plans quite independent of Bersatu.

He resigned after the collapse of the Harapan government but came up with bizarre and preposterous idea of a unity government - a government headed by him but with members personally chosen by him and not based on any political affiliation.

The idea had no traction whatsoever but went to reveal the diabolical nature of the man who would not have any hesitation in imposing a one-man administration if he had the choice.

Later, he was to suggest to the country’s ruler to appoint him as the head of a national emergency council at the the time of the pandemic.

While the dark and ominous clouds were gathering to bring about a coup against the Harapan government, the coalition itself was in a state of disarray.

PKR, DAP and Amanah relied more and more on Mahathir to save the situation from collapsing under its own weight.

The writing on the wall was clear: Mahathir would never allow PKR president Anwar Ibrahim to succeed him, even though there was a transition plan.

But Mahathir made a mincemeat of the Harapan’s transition plan that would have allowed Anwar to succeed him.

Mahathir had no such intention; it was just that Harapan was gullible. Harapan thought that with Mahathir on its side, “our prime minister” or “my prime minister” will take care of the extreme forces.

However, Mahathir proved to be not the solution but part of the problem.

Breaching the transition plan

Even after the collapse of the Harapan government, there were some unsuccessful attempts to prop up Mahathir as the prime minister once again.

Anwar knew the tricks of Mahathir, but bided his time thinking that he had a small window of opportunity.

He was wrapped up with the position so much that he failed to challenge Mahathir for breaching the transition plan.

Muhyiddin, by his own admission, has admitted that he was the prime architect in the collapse of the Harapan government. He doesn’t have to admit it; the whole world knows about it.

Muhyiddin takes pride in Bersatu in the fact that he was the brains behind its formation. He resigned as prime minister because he was forced to do so after losing his majority.

The Malacca state election might be his Waterloo.

With PAS beside him, he needs no enemies.

It is not a question of whether Perikatan Nasional is going to win the election or not; it is more about the relevance of Bersatu in national politics.

Muhyiddin might take pride in the formation of Bersatu, but I am not sure whether he is willing to take the blame in the possibility of the collapse of the party.

P RAMASAMY is Perai assemblyperson and Penang deputy chief minister II.

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