Not for Dr M to decide if he's opposition's PM candidate, says Anwar
SHAH ALAM: Pakatan Harapan will have the final say on who its candidate is for prime minister, said jailed former opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today.
He said the opposition pact must first reach a consensus on the matter, adding that no individual could “volunteer” for the job.
Anwar was responding to his enemy-turned-ally Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent statement that he may be “forced to consider” becoming prime minister again if Pakatan Harapan had such a plan for him.
Anwar said the decision is not Mahathir's to make.
“It is not for him (to decide), it is for Harapan (to decide).
“People don't volunteer (to become prime minister). There has to be a consensus,” Anwar told reporters at the Syariah Appeals Court here, today.
During a live session on his Facebook page last week, Dr Mahathir was asked whether he would agree to become the country’s prime minister again, if the opposition won the 14th General Election.
“I cannot belakangkan (ignore) my friends in the Pakatan Harapan coalition. If they have such a plan and it is agreed upon, I would be forced to consider it."
The 92-year-old, however, had said he would not agree to being reappointed as prime minister.
“I have said that after I retire, I will not become prime minister again.”
Dr Mahathir stepped down in 2003 after 22 years in office. He is currently the chairman of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), a member of the Pakatan Harapan pact.
His son and PPBM deputy president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir was quoted as saying that he was unsure if Dr Mahathir was joking about considering to taking over the top post again.
The prime ministerial candidate fiasco started when PKR, during its national congress last month, unanimously named Anwar as its prime minister-designate, with party leaders holding placards bearing the words “Anwar as the 7th PM”.
However, Dr Mahathir and PPBM president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin refrained from doing so, which sparked speculation that the duo disagreed with their allies on the subject.
