Dr Mahathir Mohamad is currently facing calls from former detainees and NGOs to apologise for the Operasi Lalang of 30 years ago.

While the calls for an apology have been vocal and well covered by the media, several political analysts believe that whether the former prime minister says sorry or not would have little impact on voter support.

Political analyst Khoo Kay Peng believes that Mahathir will not apologise for the incident that took place 30 years ago, as he has repeatedly said that it was the decision of the police to conduct Operasi Lalang.

Although apologising over the incident may somewhat work to his favour, Khoo said the key to winning the general election was not about Mahathir’s human rights record.

“(Mahathir apologising or not) won’t have an impact.

“(The election) is not about Mahathir. It is about Pakatan Harapan and its ability to convince Malays and East Malaysian voters that they can get a better deal from Harapan,” Khoo told Malaysiakini...