KUALA LUMPUR — It would be a “foolish” move for Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to hand over the reins to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim immediately after the latter’s release from prison, according to Tun Daim Zainuddin.
Daim, who heads the newly-appointed Team of Eminent Persons to advise the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government on its policies, told Straits Times that a more pragmatic leadership transition would only be “mid-term”.
“The transition will be mid-term. If you break your promise to the people, they are not going to trust you anymore. It will be foolish for anybody to change [prime ministers now],” he was quoted saying in a recent interview.
According to the Singapore daily, the timeline for a leadership change will most likely happen in 2020 as Dr Mahathir had repeatedly said he needs at least two years to resolve the problems left behind by Najib’s administration.
Daim also told the ST that he had met Anwar recently to convey the message that “you all tried how many elections and failed. Whether you like it or not, Mahathir succeeded”.
Dr Mahathir returned to office as the seventh prime minister 15 years after retiring as the fourth PM in 2003.
He had previously led the government for 22 long years from 1981.
At 92, soon to turn 93 in July, Dr Mahathir is the world’s oldest democratically elected world leader.
Anwar is still serving a five-year sentence after being convicted of sodomising a former male aide and is currently warded at the Cheras Rehabilitation Centre here for treatment of a bad back.
The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V had last week indicated he is willing to grant a royal pardon to Anwar, and the latter was supposed to be released today.
But the Pardons Board has shifted its meeting to tomorrow, and Anwar’s release, as such, will be delayed. – MALAY MAIL
UMNO WON’T BE ACCEPTED INTO PAKATAN HARAPAN NOW, SAYS MAHATHIR
Pakatan Harapan will not accept Umno into its fold due to the uncertainty surrounding its legal status, prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said.
“Umno cannot join Harapan because it is uncertain is it is legal or not legal,” he told a press conference yesterday.
The Harapan chairperson said it was up to the court to decide Umno’s legal status, while the Registrar of Societies (ROS) could decide its status of registration.
On April 20, a group of 16, who were then still Umno members, filed a judicial review to quash the ROS’ decision to allow Umno a time extension in order to hold its party elections.
They also sought the de-registration of Umno under Section 14(2) and 14(5) of the Societies Act for both provisional and permanent dissolution.
The ROS and Umno organising secretary Abdul Rauf Yusoh were named as respondents.
This followed their argument that the last day for Umno branches to hold their elections was on Feb 28 and the last day for the supreme council and 191 divisions to function was on April 19, this year.
Meanwhile, Mahathir also said yesterday that all the ‘old policies’ under his predecessor Najib Abdul Razak, will be reviewed.
This included the Transformation National 2050 (TN50), an initiative to plan for the future of Malaysia in the period 2020 to 2050, as well as National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS).
In an immediate response, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin urged the government to put the people’s best interest above anything and not to make decisions based on political differences – M’kini
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