Save Malaysia should focus on articulating its call for institutional reforms, instead of the bickering among personalities in the group, political analysts say.

This means that big names in the group should take a back seat to efforts to bring about systemic reforms.

"Instead of personalities, people want to look at and ask what are the institutional reforms in place," Penang Institute fellow Wong Chin Huat told Malaysiakini today.

Merdeka Center executive director Ibrahim Suffian, shared the same sentiments, noting that the biggest impediment for the Save Malaysia group at present was its failure to properly articulate its reform agenda.

They were both commenting on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's acidic comments against his former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, in an interview with an Australian newspaper on Monday.

The Australian quoted Mahathir as saying that he believes that imprisoned Anwar is too old to be the next prime minister.

Mahathir also stood by his decision to sack his then deputy in 1998, saying that the latter was "immoral".

The doctor's remark had earned him the ire of Anwar's wife, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, which may halt the support that the party – composed mainly of Anwar loyalists – will bring to the Save Malaysia initiative.

While he believes that Mahathir's comments will hinder the movement from becoming truly cohesive, Ibrahim, however, said that the situation was still salvageable.

Wong ( photo ) also agreed that the former prime minister's comments would muddy the waters of inter-group relations, though he added that how big an effect it could have would depend on the grassroots.

"It depends on the ground. If the ground is not going to accept and Mahathir still thinks that he needs the support of the Anwar loyalists, then he may change his mind or keep quiet," he said.

However, if Mahathir continues to stand by his remarks, then Wong believes that he will lose the support of Anwar's supporters, yet again.

Both Ibrahim and Wong pointed out that the Save Malaysia group is still a loose coalition and thus it may not have that much cohesion to begin with.

As Wong explained, it would be difficult to gauge the effect of Mahathir's criticism of Anwar on such a group.

"You can only guess from their future activities and interactions and so on (as to how much an effect Mahathir's comments would have)," he said.

Mahathir, together with Umno dissenters, notable opposition and civil society leaders, in an unprecedented move joined hands last month to sign the Citizens’ Declaration, which, among others, called for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Anwar had then expressed his support for the movement, with his loyalists in PKR, minus his wife Wan Azizah, also expressing their support though many said that this was in their personal capacities, rather than a party stand.

Wan Azizah has so far stayed directly away from the initiative, with observers believing that this may be due to her being uncomfortable working together with the man who jailed her husband.