ON THE CONTRARY, MAHATHIR! I AM THE ONE WHO COMMANDS MAJORITY SUPPORT OF MALAYS – NOT YOU! ANWAR FINALLY FIRES BACK, REMINDS MAHATHIR – ‘YOU ARE NO LONGER IN PAKATAN, BUT IF YOU WANT TO TIE UP, WE ARE OPEN TO NEGOTIATIONS’

PETALING JAYA: PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pix) said today he still commands the support of the majority of Malay voters, contrary to the opinion of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir may have dismissed him but it is not the case with the Malay voters in general, he said when replying to a question at a press conference at the PKR headquarters here.

Anwar said a huge majority of Malays support him in the constituencies where he contested.

“In PD (Port Dickson), a majority of over 60% of Malays support me. Permatang Pauh is Malay-based. I think it is needless for me to say more,” he said.

Anwar is currently the MP for Port Dickson. He has also been an MP for Permatang Pauh.

In an exclusive interview with a Malay daily, Mahathir had claimed that the Malays do not support Anwar because of the latter’s alleged liberal political ideology.

Asked whether there is still cooperation between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Mahathir, Anwar said the coalition is open to negotiation with the statesman.

“The discussions in PH today were among PKR, DAP and Amanah. Bersatu has left PH. Today, he (Dr Mahathir) is not in PH, but we are open to negotiation,” he said.

Anwar also said that PH is now focused on helping to resolve problems affecting the people such as economic issues and Covid-19.

He said that about 250 PKR members have left the party, including those who have been sacked, and added that the number was small compared to the one million members the party has.

Yesterday, PKR chief organising secretary Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said PKR had approved the membership of 12,896 people between Jan 1 and March 11.

— Bernama