Dr M set to steal some thunder from Bersih

The ex-PM is due to speak to 10,000 people in Pasir Gudang this Saturday.

KUALA LUMPUR: While Dataran Merdeka is expected to be the focal point of much attention this Saturday, a smaller-scale event in the south of the country may turn out to be more significant.

Pasir Gudang in Johor will on Saturday afternoon welcome former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who will speak at a dialogue with ordinary citizens entitled “Bicara Negarawan: Malaysia Hari Ini, Ke Mana Kita?” (Malaysia Today, Where Are We Heading?)

The choice of venue for the BN dialogue (Bicara Negarawan, not Barisan Nasional) itself has not been lost on observers.

Pasir Gudang (P159) was the parliamentary seat of current Johor Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin between 2008 and 2013. He currently occupies the state seat of Permas Jaya (N43), which is located within the same confines.

Bersih rally-goers who were hoping to see the elder statesman take to the streets with them this weekend are likely to be disappointed, but Johoreans will be thrilled to hear him speak on current issues plaguing the nation. He is expected to train his focus on the country’s present economic malaise.

Like the rest of Malaysia, Johoreans are greatly concerned that the national economy is going into freefall, with the ringgit plummeting and the stock market crashing. Their people-friendly Sultan recently called for the government to address the situation immediately.

“Who better to speak on these issues than Tun Mahathir?” co-organizer Yayasan Pengurusan Ilmu’s chairman Rahman Sharif asks. “He has proven himself during his tenure as prime minister for more than 20 years.”

Mahathir was still Prime Minister in 1998, when the nation last fell into deep crisis. He expertly negotiated the country back to calm waters through various economic measures, the most noticeable of which was to peg the ringgit to the US dollar, something current Prime Minister Najib Razak has so far refused to consider.

“The grassroots want to know what the Tun has to say about the ringgit drop and the current political climate,” Rahman told Free Malaysia Today.

“The public is worried and confused. This is why we invited Tun, and people will get an opportunity to question him directly on these matters.”

Rahman was alluding to issues simmering in the background which presently plague Najib’s administration and which are bound to come to the fore in one way or another during the session.

Already the subject of much scorn across the nation for his handling of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and for the more recent and more scandalous “RM2.6 billion donation issue,” Najib invited even more disdain upon himself in the nation’s southernmost state when he unceremoniously sacked one of its favourite sons, Umno Deputy President Muhyiddin Yassin, from the post of Deputy Prime Minister on July 28, apparently for voicing publicly his reservations about the Prime Minister’s handling of the debt-laden sovereign fund.

Seeking to endear himself once more to the Pasir Gudang folk shortly after Muhyiddin’s sacking, Najib invited himself to officiate at its delegates assembly on August 9, only to be met by a listless and disinterested assembly. That was in stark contrast to the enthusiastic ovation which Khaled himself received from the same audience.

All that, with the added impetus of growing rumours of an attempt to remove Muhyiddin as Deputy President of Umno, ought to guarantee a highly-charged atmosphere at the much-anticipated event.

Happening at the same time as the much publicised Bersih 4.0 rally, the dialogue, despite its smaller reach, is likely to concern Najib even more.

While the Prime Minister may seek to discount the Bersih rally as another opposition-led event which will eventually fizzle out, the dialogue is a stern test of his own acceptance within Umno itself.

He will also be concerned that both events encapsulate the growing disenchantment of the populace with his government.

The dialogue may also serve to teach the federal government that the way to address growing dissent is not by the deployment of security forces ready to clamp down on disenchanted citizens through the use of force, but by engaging and listening to them.

The event, which will be held at Stadium Tertutup MPPG Pasir Gudang at 2pm, is expected to garner a 10,000-strong audience. Admission is free.