DAP has urged its ally PKR today to make up its mind on agreeing to having Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) prime minister candidate, saying the pact’s other components have all agreed to it.
The DAP organising secretary, in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini, said the coalition and its allies had explored two combinations for the top two positions.
He said the first involved proposing Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister and Mukhriz Mahathir as his deputy.
However, this combination was shot down by PH’s allies and it was proposed that Dr Mahathir Mohamad would be the prime ministerial candidate and Anwar his deputy.
He said during a PH Plus meeting on June 9, both suggestions were tabled but Warisan opposed the Anwar-Mukhriz combination and Dr Mahathir proposing he be given six months at the helm.
At a follow-up meeting last Saturday DAP and Amanah favoured the Dr Mahathir-Anwar combination since the Anwar-Mukhriz combination could no longer be pursued.
However, PKR decided to defer its decision.
Loke said it is important for PKR to state whether it agreed with this proposal.
“There must be a clear direction of the way forward. It can’t be neither here nor there… Once we have a decision, then we can move on. That is DAP’s position.
“We decided to speak (openly) today because we want a decision. We want deadlines to be kept. We do not want any indecisive leadership in PH,” he was quoted as saying.
Loke’s disclosure today confirms a report by The Malaysian Insight yesterday that PH was in a limbo again as its parties cannot agree to how long Dr Mahathir should stay on as prime minister, should the coalition return to power.
After managing to agree that Dr Mahathir should be prime minister with Anwar as his deputy, the pact was now stuck on a timeline.
PH Plus comprises PKR, DAP and Amanah, and allies Warisan as well as Dr Mahathir’s faction from Bersatu.
Its leaders met last Saturday to cobble together an agreement as part of preparations for possible snap polls, as the current Perikatan Nasional government teeters on a slim majority.
At the meeting, a suggestion was made that Dr Mahathir be prime minister for a year instead of the six months originally proposed, a source said.
It cannot be verified which party had proposed six months and 12 months.
The proposal for Dr Mahathir as prime minister for six months was first made at the June 9 meeting.
This meeting did not reach a unanimous agreement on Dr Mahathir even being the prime ministerial candidate.
It is believed that the proposal had another condition: that Anwar must command the support of Sabah and Sarawak.
Malay Mail also reported that some in the other PH components have also expressed their exasperation against Anwar for allegedly dragging his feet even before the Wednesday meeting ― including by refusing to talk with Dr Mahathir.
“It is time to put things in perspective. We don’t want our supporters to be in limbo. There needs to be clear direction from the leadership. Everyone is confused with what is happening,” Loke was reported saying.
“DAP is prepared to speak because the deadline passed yesterday. We have a responsibility to inform our supporters, MPs and members about what happened and DAP’s position.”