Gerakan Tanah Air lacks support in several constituencies for Malaysia GE15, admits Mahathir

SHAH ALAM, Selangor: Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad said on Wednesday (Nov 9) that the coalition has not been well received in several constituencies as many voters do not really understand the movement.

“Surely, there are certain areas where support is lacking but we are making efforts to enlighten them on GTA and how they can benefit by voting for GTA,” he told reporters during a walkabout in Shah Alam with parliamentary candidate Mohd Rafique Rashid. 

Dr Mahathir, however, did not name the areas where GTA was not getting enough support.

He also expressed confidence that Mr Mohd Rafique would do well.

“In Selangor, GTA’s chances are good, as evident from the support we get in certain areas. But we do not have many banners and flags because we do not have money,” he said, according to Bernama. 

Asked which seats GTA could win, the incumbent Langkawi Member of Parliament said: “We can win in many areas. Langkawi, my former constituency Kubang Pasu, Amiruddin’s (Amiruddin Hamzah) current seat and Jerlun, which is held by Mukhriz (Mukhriz Mahathir).”

He said that GTA is expected to unveil its manifesto on Thursday. 

Among GTA's candidates include local celebrities Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri (Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan) and Eizlan Yusof (Sabak Bernam, Selangor), as well as road safety activist Lando Zawawi (Tanjung Karang, Selangor).

Back in 2018, Dr Mahathir, Mr Muhyiddin Yassin and Mr Anwar Ibrahim worked together to capture Putrajaya under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) umbrella. At that time, Dr Mahathir had promised to hand over power to Mr Anwar. 

However, the PH administration collapsed 22 months later, due to infighting.

Dr Mahathir then founded Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang).

GTA, which was launched only in August, comprises four political parties including the National Indian Muslim Alliance Party (Iman), Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra), Parti Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) and Pejuang. It also includes NGOs, academicians and individuals.

As the Malay movement has yet to be registered, all candidates are running under the Pejuang banner except for Kelantan where its candidates will stand on a Putra ticket.

More than 21 million people will cast their ballots in Malaysia’s 15th General Election (GE15) to elect 222 new members of the Lower House of parliament. 

The Election Commission has fixed the polling day on Nov 19 and nomination on Nov 5.