Dr M confronted with new cracks as he takes the Harapan reins

Bersatu chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad, formally Pakatan Harapan's prime ministerial candidate, can now put a bruising chapter behind and set his eyes on galvanising the opposition coalition.

The coalition had spent more than a month trying to trash out differences on whether Mahathir should be named the prime ministerial candidate, an idea first floated during its two-day retreat in Putrajaya on Dec 1 and 2.

Since then, there contradicting statements have been issued, with strong opinions expressed by civil society figures and even intense lobbying against the proposal.

Bersatu, DAP and Amanah were prepared to accept Mahathir as the prime ministerial candidate, seeing him as the best opportunity to capture the hearts and minds of the Malay heartland that has been instrumental in BN's undisrupted hold on power.

But for PKR, a party born out of trying to unseat Mahathir when he was prime minister, it was a tough decision to accept.

The intense debate prompted PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, in a message from prison, to urge Harapan leaders to engage in consultation and consensus and not go overboard with their public statements.

Even PKR's founding member Syed Husin Ali issued a public statement calling for the matter not to be rushed.

The public lobbying continued up to the very last moment, with PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin (photo) speaking out against Mahathir as the prime ministerial candidate at the Harapan Wanita convention last Saturday, proposing instead that he is made a "senior minister".

However, after a more than five-hour meeting among Harapan leaders that began last Saturday afternoon, they finally decided to go ahead with naming Mahathir.

The outcome was announced at Harapan's main convention yesterday.

While most delegates appeared were happy to rally behind Mahathir then, there were still some murmurs on whether Harapan had made the right decision.

'Lingering reservations about Dr M'

From the beginning of the convention, there had been a contest of "Hidup Tun" and "Reformasi" chants from Bersatu and PKR supporters.

Anwar, in his special message to the convention, did not specifically address Mahathir's nomination, merely alluding to Harapan's "decision", saying that it would not impact the coalition's goal for reforms.

The sense of reluctance and reservation lingered despite the formal announcement and Mahathir may need to continue placating those in PKR who do not see him favourably as the prime ministerial candidate.

Mahathir, in his acceptance speech, went out of his way to do this, declaring that he was "indebted to Anwar" for accepting him.

But the task for the 92-year-old will not only be to contain the lingering unhappiness of certain PKR leaders about the decision.

Amid the show of unity at the convention, a different kind of discontent was brewing.

Notably absent were the top Johor Amanah leaders, who had boycotted the gathering.

The same Saturday afternoon meeting that decided Mahathir as Harapan's official candidate for prime minister also finalised the parliamentary seats allocation for Peninsular Malaysia for the member parties.

Bersatu emerged as the biggest winner with the lion's share of seats, taking 52 seats while PKR at 51, DAP at 35 while Amanah was only allocated 27 seats.

In Johor, the state in which the foundation of Amanah was first laid, the party will only be allowed to contest two parliamentary seats, namely Parit Sulong and Pulai.

Amanah sources told Malaysiakini that as soon as the Harapan meeting at the Bersatu headquarters in Petaling Jaya concluded, the Amanah central leadership convened another meeting with its Johor leaders at the Amanah headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

'Amanah grassroots fume'

There, Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub, who is also from Johor and will contest the Pulai seat, took pains to placate angry Johor Amanah chief Aminolhuda Hassan.

The meeting went on late into the night and Salahuddin, who was late to the convention yesterday, appeared visibly tired.

Mahathir, after Sunday's convention, credited the Amanah central leaders for being magnanimous.

Salahuddin (photo) said he hoped the party would be compensated with more state seats. Failure to placate the Johor leadership could well see Salahuddin facing a revolt in his own state.

On another front, a separate Amanah source told Malaysiakini that Federal Territories Amanah chief Dr Hatta Ramli was set to resign after the party was not allocated a single parliamentary seat in Kuala Lumpur.

Hatta, when contacted, denied that he would be resigning, but refused to elaborate on the matter.

Amanah leaders who did attend the Harapan convention expressed hope that the disgruntlement would blow over soon and would not lead to any sabotage in the general election.

"It's normal for them to be vocal... It won't come to sabotage (during the general election). We are big-hearted and matured," Hatta said.

Going forward, Harapan will seek to finalise its seat negotiations and the issue of Amanah will be a contentious point.

However, DAP and PKR sources told Malaysiakini that despite their long relationship with Amanah leaders, they favoured Bersatu due to the latter's stronger influence.

Strategically, they said, Bersatu was in a stronger position than Amanah.

"Amanah does not have the bargaining power... It is good that this is decided now so that Amanah central leaders will have time to appease the grassroots," a senior PKR leader told Malaysiakini.

Later in the day, Tampin Amanah chief Abdul Latif Tambi said Amanah leaders who did attend the Harapan convention were hopeful that the disgruntlement would blow over soon and would not lead to any sabotage in the coming general election.- Mkini