The public should not fantasise about the rise of a grand coalition of opposition parties with Umno rebels joining it, including former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said analyst Wong Chin Huat.

The Penang Institute fellow said this would not be good for democracy, and thus he urged the people to "divide and rule" politicians instead.

"I do not know why democrats would want Umno and DAP to become allies. They should just be democratic competitors.

"Real patriots in democracies should be divided enough to ensure competition," Wong said in a Facebook posting today.

As such, he said, the Save Malaysia group formed last Friday should focus only on getting rid of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and implementing institutional reforms.

He said they should not team up to contest in elections together like the first Save Malaysia mission in 1990 .

"What I want in the post-Najib Malaysia are functioning public institutions to ensure multiparty competition, not a permanent grand coalition based on goodwill and friendship of politicians," he said.

The second Save Malaysia campaign was signed by Mahathir, and leaders from the opposition and civil societies last Friday.

The campaign includes a Citizens' Declaration, vowing to oust Najib through legal means, and to follow that up with institutional reforms.