BAGAN DATOH: It is difficult for opposition members to now accept Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad due to the political injury he has inflicted on their leaders.
Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said although the wound may have healed, the scars would remain forever.
"I am confident that his (Dr Mahathir's) proposal to put all opposition parties under one roof will not succeed," he said after presenting sacrificial cattle to the mosque and surau committees in his Bagan Datoh parliamentary constituency here today.
The deputy prime minister said everyone knew who was really responsible for sacking Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and sending him to jail.
Therefore, he said the recent meeting between Dr Mahathir and his long-time nemesis Anwar was only a political move, which could not be accepted by opposition party members.
"It's a marriage of convenience, which will not last, as they just want to achieve their own (separate) goals," he said.
He also said that the leaders involved are no longer relevant, and they are changing their tactics as the people have rejected the politics of hatred.