KUALA LUMPUR – Former Malaysian education minister Maszlee Malik has left a new opposition party which is being set up by ex-premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Mr Mazslee was one of six MPs, including Dr Mahathir himself, who were sacked from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia after a tussle with party president Muhyiddin Yassin.

Former Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, 27, has left the pro-Mahathir group of MPs to form his own youth party, Muda.

With the exit of Mr Maszlee, 45, the group with Dr Mahathir is left with four MPs who are trying to form Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang).

Mr Maszlee’s move also reflects the continung turmoil in Malaysian politics with shifting alliances.

His future in Pejuang was raised in the last few weeks after it became known that he signed a statutory declaration supporting Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim as the next prime minister.

This was when Datuk Seri Anwar was making a claim that he has a “formidable” number of MPs behind him to form the next government.

Speculation about Mr Maszlee’s future in Pejuang became louder when his name was not among those listed in a joint statement from the party when it commented on Budget 2021 that will be unveiled in Parliament on Friday (Nov 6).

“All sorts of questions have arisen after the media release from Pejuang regarding the absence of my name. This media statement is aimed (at explaining) the current state of my position in Pejuang,” he said in a statement on Monday (Nov 2).

“I … would like to announce my withdrawal as a member of the Pejuang committee. I want to fully concentrate my efforts on helping the rakyat who have been afflicted with Covid-19, especially those in Simpang Renggam, and Malaysia in general,” he added.

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The former university lecturer is MP for Simpang Renggam in Johor.

He was made education minister in Dr Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan government that won the May 2018 general election. Mr Maszlee stepped down 20 months later from the post after a series of controversies as education minister.

Mr Maszlee said his decision to leave the yet-to-be-registered Pejuang was also made as he believes people are “nauseated with the game of power and politics” by the political elite.

“I believe efforts for change do not require power and position solely, but also passion and opportunity, ” he said.

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