UP until Sunday night, there were still some people who did not quite believe that Dr Mahathir Mohammad was serious about contesting the general election.

They thought he would change his mind at the eleventh hour.

These people obviously do not understand how deep and personal his fallout with Najib Razak has become.

The stage is now set for Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister to break his own 22-year record of holding the top job.

It was a sultry evening that was pregnant with symbolism as well as irony.

Once the most powerful man in Malaysia, Dr Mahathir now has to use the symbol of the party he tried and failed to kill off.

His candidacy was announced by the People’s Justice Party (PKR) president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the wife of his one-time nemesis, who delivered a glowing tribute to the 92-year-old leader.

The choice of Dr Wan Azizah to affirm his candidature was also to show their commitment to each other, and that Dr Mahathir has the support of Anwar Ibrahim from behind bars.

Can politics in Malaysia get any stranger?

Kedah, a state of Malaysia, already holds the record for producing two prime ministers and if things go well for Dr Maha­thir, it may hold the record for producing the oldest one Malaysia has ever had.

The idea may seem strange, but Pakatan Harapan or The Alliance of Hope, a coalition of left-leaning and centre parties, supporters find it perfectly okay, or at least that is what they say.

As Juhari Bulat, the Pribumi (The Malaysian United Indigenous Party) candidate for Ayer Hangat in Langkawi put it, the late Sultan of Kedah became the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or monarch in his 80s, so why can’t Dr Mahathir become prime minister in his 90s?

There is a big difference actually — the prime minister’s job is much more demanding than that of the monarch.

And Dr Mahathir did look his age that evening. He appeared rather shaky and could not quite remember the names of some of those on stage.

His spirit to unseat Najib is strong, but his age and health are factors that are not working out for him.

Moreover, it is hard to see how Dr Wan Azizah’s speech and message that night could have convinced the Langkawi audience that she is deputy prime minister material.

Of those who spoke that night, only Pribumi president Muhyiddin Yassin came closest to prime minister material, while Amanah president Mohamed Sabu was very amusing. Amanah is Parti Amanah Negara, a political party created by Sabu in 2015.

The event managed to draw quite a good crowd, but it was not the “lautan manusia” or sea of people claimed by Muhyiddin. Neither was it the type of crowd that is a harbinger of a Malay tsunami.

The audience was polite and respectful, but it was quite evident that many of them were curious spectators because each time the emcee tried to get them to join him in shouting “Reformasi!”, most of them did not.

It was thus unsurprising that even before the ceramah (rally)was over, the Pakatan (coalition group) side was flooding social media with pictures of massive crowds and claiming the pictures were coming from Langkawi.

Malay tsunami

But it was untrue. The photos were crowd scenes from what appeared to be a Democratic Action Party (DAP) ceramah (rally) in Johor during the 13th general election. There was even a PAS (Malaysian Islamic Party) flag fluttering in one of the pictures.

Among all the Pakatan partners, DAP is most anxious to convince its Chinese audience that a Malay tsunami is on the way and that “Tun Mah”, as they call Dr Mahathir, will be the one to make it happen.

DAP is heavily invested in Dr Mahathir because they need the Malay tsunami to make the Chinese voters believe that the government will fall and persuade them to come along in greater numbers.

Dr Mahathir flew into Langkawi a day earlier for a packed two-day programme — a breakfast ceramah (talk) for some locals, dialogue with the Indians, dinner dialogue with the Chinese, officiating a football club and then the big announcement.

“I cannot say who will win, but it will be a good fight,” said a local Chinese community figure.

Will Langkawi be the staging point for Dr Mahathir to topple Najib? Can the odd pairing of the two doctors persuade Malaysians to go along?

Dr Mahathir is loved and respected in Langkawi. The people will always be grateful for how he turned their island into a world-famous tourism destination.

Will the people of Langkawi return the favour and deliver victory to him in his hour of need? So many questions and so few answers from this beautiful island.

But there has been no sign of the promised Malay tsunami.

Initially, we were told it would become evident once parliament is dissolved. Now, we are told that it will only happen once the candidates are known on nomination day.

Dr Mahathir does not have much time left before the polls to bring on the Malay tsunami.

The Star / Malaysia

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2018