It was Dr Mahathir Mohamad who proposed himself as Pakatan Harapan’s prime minister candidate, PH chief secretary Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said today.
In a Facebook post, Saifuddin, who is also PKR secretary-general, said PH had only discussed PKR president and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s name as the candidate from the outset at the first of a series of PH presidential council meetings recently to decide on the matter.
He said Dr Mahathir proposed his own name and that he would stay prime minister for six months at a June 9 meeting, after which it adjourned for a week before making a final decision.
“It is not true if there are sources saying that PH had proposed other names besides Anwar’s in our discussions as PH Plus. Instead, Dr Mahathir proposed his own name and (Sabah Chief Minister and Warisan president) Mohd Shafie Apdal agreed.
“No conclusive results were reached at the meeting,” Saifuddin said, adding he had been called upon to clarify reports on PH’s difficulty in reaching a consensus.
It has been reported by various media, however, based on coalition sources, that the PH leadership has been discussing two options – an Anwar-Mukhriz Mahathir combo for prime minister and deputy prime minister and the other, Dr Mahathir and Anwar.
Saifuddin’s account also contradicts DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke, who told Malaysiakini in an interview that PH Plus had discussed the Anwar-Mukhriz option.
Loke had also urged PKR to decide whether it would reject or accept Dr Mahathir as the prime minister candidate as there are ways to ensure he does not stay beyond six months.
Saifuddin said PKR’s central leadership council will make a final decision on the issue tomorrow.
Wrangling over the prime minister candidate comes amid speculation that a snap general election will be called earlier than the due date in 2023 and is also part of PH’s attempts to reorganise itself after being ousted from federal power by Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional coalition. – TMI