DR M SAYS IT AGAIN: I AM WILLING TO BECOME PM ONCE MORE
PKR de facto leader Anwar had earlier said decision on candidate was not for ex-PM to make
TUN Dr Mahathir Mohamad has reaffirmed his intention to become prime minister again. This was despite the rebuke by his former protégé and jailed PKR de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, over the issue that is fast becoming a thorn in Pakatan Harapan’s side.
Dr Mahathir, 91, told the Nikkei Asian Review in a Tuesday report that he would offer himself for the post if no one from the opposition pact stepped up to the plate.
Last week, in a Facebook live interview, the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman said he would consider returning as the head of government in Putrajaya.
However, Dr Mahathir, who left office in 2003 after 22 years as prime minister, said it was possible for him to take up the top job, but only for “a short while”.
“If there is no candidate... I might try, only on the condition that everybody agrees,” he was quoted as saying.
Dr Mahathir stressed that his goal was to lead the opposition pact to victory, which would be helpful as he had “a lot of experience in winning elections”.
In the article, Dr Mahathir also alleged that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had become “too powerful”.
While admitting that he, too, was powerful during his tenure, Dr Mahathir, however, claimed he never abused his powers.
“I was powerful, but I didn’t abuse my powers. That is why I was reelected five times.”
On Monday, Anwar, during a court appearance in Shah Alam, told the media that the decision on the prime ministerial candidate would be made collectively by Pakatan Harapan members.
“It is not for him (Dr Mahathir to decide), it is for (Pakatan) Harapan (to decide). People don’t volunteer (to be prime minister), there has to be consensus,” Anwar said.
The furore over Pakatan Harapan’s prime ministerial candidate took root during the 12th PKR congress in Shah Alam when Dr Mahathir and PPBM president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin did not raise placards with words of support for Anwar to be the “seventh prime minister”.
The pact’s presidential council is expected to hold a meeting tomorrow to determine their prime ministerial candidate.
Sources claimed that all the pact’s parties were likely to back Anwar as the top pick.
Yesterday, Anwar’s daughter and PKR vice-president, Nurul Izzah Anwar, said several candidates had been mentioned, but the matter would need to be discussed internally.
“The chosen prime minister should be a good prime minister. It does not matter who she or he is. I believe the person must be credible and reformist-minded, and this will be deliberated by the Pakatan Harapan presidential council through a consensusbased decision-making (process).”
On Anwar’s eligibility as a prime ministerial candidate, Nurul Izzah said it was the plan in 1999, during Dr Mahathir’s reign, when the now-defunct Barisan Alternatif collectively agreed on the former deputy prime minister as the candidate.
“After the 2013 election, he (Anwar) led us, as opposition leader. (Back then) it was also our decision (to make Anwar prime minister).”