BN and PN are not good enough, but 'Pejuang will support either side'

 

Declaring that his party found neither the PN nor BN coalition good enough to form the next government, Dr Mahathir Mohamad went on to express his willingness to support PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, should Anwar be made the next prime minister.

He went on to say that Pejuang would consider becoming part of the cabinet if it is invited by the BN/PN ruling coalition.

"We (Pejuang) find that both coalitions are not interesting, which is why we have distanced ourselves in the first place.

"We are ‘a third force’, we can support either side, but for now, we are not working with any," Mahathir was quoted by Free Malaysia Today as saying during a live forum organised by Bernama yesterday.

Pejuang would not have any problem supporting Anwar as prime minister, the former two-time prime minister and Langkawi MP said.

However, he questioned if Anwar could command the majority support in Parliament.

Mahathir also dismissed the allegation that he blocked Anwar from becoming the prime minister during the Pakatan Harapan era.

"That is not true, in fact, he was the one who didn’t want me as prime minister or to be part of PH. When Muhyiddin Yassin became prime minister (in March 2020), he was weak and we thought PH could regain power again," he was reported as saying.

Anwar Ibrahim and Dr Mahathir Mohamad

"However, Anwar told me that I cannot become prime minister again. Instead, he told a different story (to the public). Anwar is nothing without me. I made him a minister."

"I’m ready to work with him again anytime, but he refuses to do so," Mahathir said.

After Muhyiddin Yassin resigned as prime minister, Perikatan Nasional and BN backed the then deputy prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, as their prime minister candidate while the opposition solidly backed Anwar as their candidate.

Victory appears to be in sight for Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob to take up the helm of prime minister, as he has gained the support of 114 MPs from PN, BN, GPS and PAS.

To a question, Mahathir said his party would consider if it is invited to join the new cabinet.

"We will consider," he said.

Asked whether his party would join Harapan if it forms the new government, Mahathir did not provide a direct answer.

Instead, the former prime minister said he was not interested in a position in the cabinet but that he only wanted to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I am not interested in the cabinet, I just want to have the power to address the pandemic," he said.

In April, PN secretary-general Hamzah Zainuddin said the coalition was open to accepting any individual or party willing to be part of the ruling bloc.

This came after Mahathir said would consider supporting the PN if the kleptocratic individuals, or leaders in the “court cluster”, were not part of the ruling coalition. - Mkini