Anwar not capable of navigating Malaysia through troubled times - Mahathir

 

Amid a stalemate over who would lead a unified opposition, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is adamant that person should not be PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

Mahathir, who prior to the collapse of his Pakatan Harapan government had publicly said he would hand over power to Anwar but indicated behind closed doors that he won't help muster the necessary support for the Port Dickson MP, is now openly rejecting him.

The 95-year-old called into question Anwar's capability, using Anwar's tenure as deputy prime minister and finance minister in 1997 as an example.

“I have tested his capabilities when I was prime minister. I took a holiday for two months and Anwar took over the reins. We had an economic crisis at the time, and his suggestions did not help the country recover its financial standings.

“That is why I had to take over from the finance minister and come up with plans to save the country from economic woes.

“I do not know how the people saw this, but what was clear during the financial crisis in 1997 was, Anwar was not capable,” Mahathir was quoted as saying in an interview with The Malaysian Insight.

Mahathir sacked Anwar a year later and had him jailed as the latter rallied supporters against the then premier.

The two men briefly reconciled before the 2018 general election to face their common enemy - then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The cooperation led to a coalition comprising Mahathir's Bersatu, Anwar's PKR as well as Amanah and DAP.

It led to Harapan's victory in the general election and Mahathir was returned as the seventh prime minister with an agreement to eventually hand over power to Anwar.

Irreparable ties

However, Mahathir's then party president Muhyiddin Yassin took Bersatu and its allies out of the coalition in late February, and replaced Harapan with his new Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition government.

Following the collapse of the Harapan government, the relationship between Anwar and Mahathir appears irreparable.

In the interview, Mahathir questioned Anwar's judgement in handling the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

“He always followed the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). I told him before if we followed their suggestions, our country would not have enough funds to even pay salaries. But he continued supporting them,” he was quoted as saying.

Mahathir took several unconventional measures during the Asian financial crisis, including pegging the ringgit against the US dollar.

The move was widely criticised by the international community but recognised by the IMF as the right move after more than a decade. - Mkini