Amanah leader Husam Musa's suggestion to field Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the 'symbolic' Putrajaya parliamentary seat in the coming general election showed that the opposition is faced with a vacuum in leadership, said political analysts.

The opposition needs a leader that could replace jailed leader Anwar Ibrahim, who could not contest in the next polls following his failure to overturn his sodomy conviction in his final court appeal, said political analyst Tang Ah Chai.

"This new leader should have the ability to mobilise all the parties and leaders as well as reconcile the disputes between the parties. He or she should place the interest of the larger group above individual parties," he told Malaysiakini.

According to him, Opposition Leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Muhyiddin Yassin or Amanah president Mohamad Sabu were unable to fill the vacuum.

The opposition, particularly Pakatan Harapan, has insisted that Anwar should be their leader and they need only to pick an interim prime minister until Anwar is eligible to contest in the election.

"Husam wishes to use the elder stateman's influence to unite the opposition. While it is a realistic suggestion, it shows that you have run out of talent when you call on a 91-year-old to serve the country," noted Tang.

On top of that, Tang doubted Mahathir would stand a good chance of winning the administrative capital where most of the voters there are civil servants.

"It also remains to be seen how much influence Mahathir has now as he had left office many years ago. You must remember that not many follow him when he exited Umno. Mahathir had created the Umno (culture) that places personal interests above all else," he said.

University Kebangsaan Malaysia associate professor Mohd Faisal Syam Abdol Hazis blamed the problem on the opposition’s lack of insight to groom a new generation of leaders.

"You don't want to dismiss Anwar's role in the last two general elections, but he is not getting younger. He was constantly targeted and they want to bring him down. Despite that, you do not have a second layer of leaders," he said.

"Aging leaders should play the supporting role and pave way for young leaders to climb the ranks instead of being the stumbling block," he said.

Dr M can help bring Malay votes

Mohd Faisal, however, acknowledged that Mahathir could help garner Malay votes following Umno's fragmentation under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's leadership.

"But his role should not go beyond that. To suggest that he could be a potential prime minister is pushing too far," he said.

Head of Political, Security and International Affairs Cluster of National Council of Professors Mohamed Mustafa Ishak said the opposition should have built on their own collective strength, instead of depending on individual leaders.

"This showed the opposition’s lack of confidence (to face BN) in the next polls," he said.

"They should be confident and brave enough to announce their own candidate for prime minister as well as the shadow cabinet. Some of the voters want to see this," said Mustafa.

"In my mind, it is not appropriate for an elder statesman to contest. Mahathir should retire completely. If he continues to be partisan, being active in politics and making all sort of comments, this may affect his respected position (as former prime minister).”