Dr M thanks Anwar for letting him into Pakatan
SHAH ALAM: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday thanked former nemesis Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for letting him into Pakatan Harapan (HP).
The Pakatan Harapan chairman admitted that it could not have been “easy” for Anwar and his family to agree to work with him and allow his party into the Opposition pact.
“I am aware how he must have felt. It was not easy for him to accept me. I owe him a debt of gratitude, and I say thank you to him,” Dr Mahathir said during his speech at the PH convention yesterday.
Dr Mahathir who is Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairman, said he also realised it must have been difficult for those in Pakatan partner parties to collaborate with him as they were once against his leadership, his policies and his conduct.
“But I realise they are also leaving behind the past and moving forward,” he said after he was officially named as PH’s candidate for prime minister.
Dr Mahathir will have to step down and pave way for Anwar to become PM if the PH is able to obtain a pardon for the latter’s second sodomy conviction.
The Prison Department yesterday said that Anwar will be released on June 8, after serving two-thirds of his fiveyear sentence from his 2014 conviction. The remainder of his prison term will be remitted.
Dr Mahathir also admitted it was devastating for him to go against Umno which he joined in 1946 and was president of for 22 years.
“Since I joined Umno, I had fought for my party Umno but now I am fighting against it.
“It is not easy for me to destroy the party I loved for 60 years,” he said.
Dr Mahathir said he knew that even if he started his own party, he would not be able to challenge Umno and Barisan Nasional without working together with the other Opposition parties.
He explained that even though the other Pakatan parties found it difficult to accept him, their former enemy, they realised the need and importance of working collectively against Barisan.
“They know that collaborating with Pribumi (Bersatu) will counter the concerns of the Malays who worry they will lose out (under Pakatan rule),” said Dr Mahathir adding those in rural areas were yet to understand liberalism.
“That is why Pribumi (Bersatu) is not a multi-racial party,” he said.