THE nation’s chief gauntlet thrower is at it again – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has openly challenged his once protégé and current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to dissolve parliament and to hold snap elections.
Posting on his Facebook page, the centurion sarcastically applauded PMX for his bravery in challenging the opposition to table a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the Dewan Rakyat.
The twice former premier stated the reason for PMX’s boldness was that the latter knew the motion would not succeed. This is simply because many parliamentarians feared reprisals if they did not back Anwar and the Madani government.
The longest serving PM in the world also claimed that there were those who would end up behind bars if they withheld support for PMX, clearly referring to UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who was controversially granted a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) for his 47 graft-linked charges.
The removal of budgetary provisions was also used as a weapon to intimidate MPs, hence the support within the Dewan Rakyat was based on fear.
“Retire for good, TunM’
To further illustrate this climate of intimidation, Dr Mahathir also claimed that UMNO members were warned against joining the Turun Anwar rally on July 26.
The elderly statesman who lost his deposit in the 2022 national polls went on to argue that PMX needs to seek legitimacy by dissolving parliament and seek a fresh mandate from the electorate.
After all, his once-disciple-turned-nemesis is only in Putrajaya because he interfered with the trial of certain political figures to garner their party’s support in Parliament. Moreover, it was argued that PMX has nothing to fear as his sycophants had reported a low turnout for the Turun Anwar protest.
As expected, there were plenty of reactions to the post with it having already generated 14K likes, 1K shares and 7.3K comments at the time of writing.
One commenter pleaded with Dr Mahathir who had administered Malaysia for “22 years and 22 months” to use his influence in nation-building instead by focusing on “economy, peace and growth”.
Others were less diplomatic, pointing out that Tun M would never be happy even if PMX won the 16th General Election (GE16) for a second term. It would then be an endless cycle of demands for national polls followed by calls for a no confidence ad nauseum, claimed one commenter.
Another called for patience as polls were just two years away. Dr Mahathir could then set a new record in Langkawi by being the oldest electoral candidate ever. He also chided the former Bersatu and Pejuang founder that he could be the first ex-premier to lose a deposit twice!
It was also pointed out that the electorate had already rejected both Dr Mahathir and his progeny in the last election when they both lost their deposits. But the centenarian’s ultra-thick hide prevents him from acknowledging this.
One commenter advised Dr Mahathir to let PMX carry forward the nation in a fast-changing digital world, believing the country is on good hands. He also contended that the wealth of the latter’s offspring will be untouched so long as investigations show they are not ill-gotten.
One netizen perhaps offered the best advice to the elder statesman – “Tun’s era has past, be aware that the country needs change”. – Aug 1, 2025
