KUALA LUMPUR: Pejuang is at risk of sinking deeper into the abyss with the resignation of its chairman, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, say analysts.
Dr Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia said the party does not have much of a future under Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir's leadership
Oh opined that Mukhriz, who is also Dr Mahathir's son, did not have the ability to lead the party forward.
"Mukhriz has always appeared to be half-hearted in his political career," FMT quoted him as saying, adding that he could not recall the former Jerlun member of parliament taking any remarkable political action "beyond resigning as Kedah menteri besar twice".
Mukhriz stepped down as menteri besar after losing the support of the majority of his party's assemblymen following a two-week long political crisis in 2016.
In 2020, he was forced to resign his post after losing the support of most assemblymen.
Oh added that the Pejuang party had always been Mahathir-centric.
"Without Dr Mahathir, it appears the party will sink into further oblivion."
In 2020, Dr Mahathir founded Pejuang after leaving Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
Last week, he resigned as chairman, but remains an ordinary party member and chairman of Gerakan Tanah Air, a loose coalition of Malay-based groups including Pejuang, non-governmental organisations, academics and professionals. The coalition was formed a few months before the recent general election.
Another Pejuang leader, Datuk Khairuddin Abu Hassan, has stepped down as the party's Federal Territories chief and central executive council member, saying he had lost confidence in the party president's leadership.
Azmil said Mukhriz was not in a position to lead a "dying party" that had suffered a major defeat in GE15.
Mukhriz tried to defend the Jerlun parliamentary seat but lost to Perikatan Nasional's (PN) Abdul Ghani Ahmad, who won with a 20,456 majority in a four-cornered fight. Mukhriz only secured 3,144 votes.
Mukhriz and Mahathir were two of the 369 candidates who lost the election and forfeited their deposits, receiving less than one-eighth of the vote.
Azmil saw Pejuang fighting a losing battle in an already-crowded political field with Umno, Bersatu and PAS all vying for Malay votes.
He said it was hard to see Pejuang with much of a future in Malaysian politics as many of its leaders were likely to leave the party to join the likes of PN and Barisan Nasional.
