The Malaysian Insight

THE transition of power between Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim should not be turned into a problem, Anwar said earlier today.

The Port Dickson MP said his position to replace Dr Mahathir as Prime Minister had been decided and agreed upon by Pakatan Harapan (PH) before the last general election.

“The issue of who is the next prime minister has become a problem for a lot of people, but I want to stress it is not a problem for me,” he said.

“PH must be on the right path. Secure democracy, the people’s wellbeing, fight corruption and abuse of power,” he said today after launching PKR’s new headquarters in Bayan Baru Penang.

“This is not an obsession. What is important is the people’s agenda,” he added.

The former deputy to Mahathir, once again reiterate his full support for the 93-year-old leader.

“This is the ideal we are safeguarding, and we should give the opportunity to Dr Mahathir to steer PH and the country in these challenging times.”

Meanwhile, Anwar has denied that there is dispute in the ruling coalition over who should replace Dr Mahathir.

“I attended every PH meeting and I meet with the prime minister every week. There are no differences or objections as alleged by outsiders.

“Component parties in PH are not moving away from what has been promised. There is no issue on delaying or to speed up the power transition.”

During the last general election, Dr Mahathir became the prime minister as Anwar was still in jail.

Since receiving a royal pardon, the two have been asked on their power transition plan.

Dr Mahathir, had countlessly said he would relinquish his position when the right time comes and the reins to Anwar.

PH chief secretary Saifuddin Abdullah said there is no time frame given.

Dr Mahathir had said he wanted to settle the country’s debt before handing it over to Anwar.

Anwar, on the other hand, said the issue of transition would only cause disharmony if it was being played up regularly. – June 30, 2019.