Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister of Malaysia, has announced that he is no longer the Chairman of the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition, which he founded with 12 other members. He cited that GTA has not been functioning as intended, and its registration has yet to be approved by the Registrar of Societies. Mahathir also revealed that the coalition was unsuccessful in the 15th general election, losing 125 seats. He believes that if they want to win and fight for the Malays - especially since the state elections are looming near - they have to get the support of the Malays.
Mahathir has a long and storied political career spanning over 75 years. He began his political journey by joining protests opposing citizenship policies for non-Malays in the Malayan Union in the 1940s. He then became involved in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), one of Malaysia's most prolonged and oldest-standing political parties. However, he was in and out of UMNO for several periods, including as an Independent politician.
After leaving UMNO in 2016, Mahathir founded the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU). However, he left BERSATU in 2020, after the crumble of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government which he led as Prime Minister for 22 months, and went on to found the Homeland Fighters Party (PEJUANG) with his son, Mukhriz Mahathir. He was later appointed as Chairman for the Gerakan Tanah Air coalition involving PEJUANG, Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra), Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa), and Parti Perikatan India Muslim Nasional (Iman). However, after Pejuang withdrew from GTA in January 2023, Mahathir also left the party and was later reported to have joined Putra. However, his most recent announcement of leaving GTA did not come as a surprise.
Whether Mahathir's political moves are genuinely aimed at fighting for the Malays or simply part of a more giant political game remains to be seen. The recent signings of the 'Malay Proclamation' between Mahathir and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia's (PAS) President, Hadi Awang - two rivals in the political arena - has raised some questions amongst the Rakyat. Only time will tell what the future holds for this political veteran.
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