Mahathir launches 'Fighter' party

Dr Mahathir Mohamad launches ‘Pejuang’ or fighter after announcing the creation of a new Malay party last week.

He says the party will fight against corruption and money politics. Pejuang is the short form for the party’s name.

The full name of the party is Parti Pejuang Tanah Air. It is difficult to translate the full name of the party in English. But it roughly means the parti fighting for the nation.

He revealed the name of the party in a blog post that received mild responses from his supporters.

He wrote a poem to mention the word Pejuang or fighter.

Some comments on Tun Dr Mahathir’s post related to the new party say Pejuang to them means ‘guerilla’.

They ask if the elderly statesman is up for a guerilla fight?

“If we want to redeem our dignity, if we want to keep what is ours. Then choose our party.

“Choose Pejuang,” he says.

Nevertheless, Mahathir is yet to reveal the full name of the party. He is still waiting for approval from the country’s registrar.

This is the third party for Dr Mahathir. He was a member of the Umno, the ruling party in Malaysia for 61 years before its fall from power in 2018.

Mahathir left the party twice but the second time he left Umno for good.

In 2016, Mahathir launches the Bersatu only to find himself and five other MPs getting the boot from the party in 2020.

This was after his resignation as PM and subsequently as party chairman.

A power struggle within the party and a tussle with the PM Muhyiddin Yassin and the Mahathir camp led to the latter losing his grip on Bersatu.

Last Friday, during a live Facebook video broadcast that Mahathir made it clear he was launching a new party.

The party will not align itself to any of the existing political coalitions in the country.

In essence, Mahathir is telling the Malaysians he is now a fighter against corruption and money politics.