By Tay Tian Yan, Sin Chew Daily

On May 9, Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim said in a joint statement that they still do not abandon people's voice now as in two years ago., and that they have set their differences aside "for the sake of the people".

I don't know why this did sound a little weird to me.

I wasn't alone. Many around me felt the same way, including many of Mahathir's and PH's fans.

After a hear-breaking separation two months ago, these two old men have decided to come together again as if their love for each other is uncleavable.

The word "love" has a very much more extensive implication here, and can include also the love for power, benefits, fame, and the PM seat.

And the duo said it was "for the people"!

I have no idea how you would look at the Mahathir-Anwar love affair.

No doubt, majority of voters cast their ballots in favor of PH in 2018. They supported Mahathir and Anwar to fulfill their dream of changing the government with the hope Malaysia would become more democratic, diverse, clean, fair and progressive.

Indeed they had sky-high expectations for the new PH administration during its first few months. With MPs from Umno and East Malaysia jumping ship later, the coalition managed to have over 140 seats in the Parliament. If we take in also the "friendly gesture" from GPS of Sarawak, PH was in practice commanding a comfortable two-thirds majority.

That made PH a strong government with powerful public support and majority of seats. If it had a little more resolution, it should have been able to honor its election pledges and reform the country in building a New Malaysia.

Unfortunately it reneged on its election pledges one after another, their leaders scurrying to find excuses to avert their responsibilities, arguing that they needed more time and that the election manifesto was not a "Bible" and they never expected themselves to win the elections.

In addition, PH also paled in showcasing its competency in running the government, including its poor handling of the Hindu temple riot issue, ICERD, the Malay dignity congress, Jawi and UTAR allocations.

As for the component parties, they were more enthusiastic about fighting for more power and interests than for the good of the nation and people.

Within PKR, Anwar and his ex-deputy Azmin Ali turned against each other, and the PM was more than happy to exploit Azmin to check the influences of Anwar.

Anwar has through PH pressured Mahathir to fix a handover date but the latter fought back by teaming up with Umno and PAS.

For a year and a half, PH's approval rating slipped steadily even as the power struggle remained rife within the coalition.

By then it was already foreseeable that PH would fall as a consequence of internal split, or be defeated in the next general elections.

It was nevertheless unexpected that the coalition chose a much more drastic way of self-destruction.

Anwar's lack of patience triggered Mahathir's annihilative resignation, and coupled with the trailing betrayals, spelled the of the PH government.

PH was not defeated in the battlefield fighting a more powerful enemy. It was killed by its own people.

"For the sake of the people" the two men came together again on the second anniversary of their 2018 election win, but will the rakyat believe in them again? How will they prevent themselves from becoming a tool in their exchange of interests?

Perhaps the rakyat should ask why you have forsaken us when we voted for you and placed all our hopes on you.

Is it that you now think back again of the people because you don't have the PM seat, backing from the government, political power and resources any more?

While you may be willing to work hand in hand again for power and the top government post, most Malaysians will not fall in love with you so easily this time!