PETALING JAYA – Incoming PKR president Anwar Ibrahim has repeated he is in no hurry to be the prime minister, saying his priority is to enter Parliament.
Calling instead for support to be given to current prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar said based on the initial Pakatan Harapan consensus, a power shift could happen in the near future, with his participation in Parliament.
He admitted there had been offers from certain members of parliament to relinquish their seats to make way for his entry into Parliament.
“I appreciate those offers. For now, we should fully support Mahathir. We need to give him the space and means to lead the government without pressure.
“If I decide to enter Parliament, it is as a supporter of the government. We are still observing. If you look at the process, it must begin with my participation in Parliament to put me in a position for a power shift to take place.
“Let us not pray for people to die quickly,” he said in a press conference at the party headquarters here today.
Anwar was asked to comment on his next move, as a result of him winning the party presidency uncontested recently, and whether he would go for a by-election that was natural or engineered.
“If we go for a by-election by natural means, it means I will have to wait for an MP to die. Itu pandangan bengong (That is a ridiculous viewpoint),” he said.
Under the PH consensus, a power shift was expected to take place in two years, but Anwar said if no one died, then the power shift must take place in five years.
“I do not wish to dwell on this. But there have been views that it should be a by-election by natural means. I find this hard to understand.
“A decision on this power shift had been made while I was in jail. A consensus was reached among PH parties.
“A power shift will take place. It is a matter of whether it is immediate or not. To me it is not urgent. What is more urgent is the PKR polls,” he said.
The prime minister-in-waiting said he would discuss with Mahathir to give him space to take part in Parliament in order to start parliamentary reforms.
“It is important to ensure that power is not concentrated in the hands of the cabinet. Parliament needs to able to function well,” he added.
There had been talk of several MPs willing to give up their seats for Anwar, such as Selayang MP William Leong Jee Keen and Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul.
Batu MP P Prabakaran, on the other hand, had denied claims he was offered RM25 million to give up his parliamentary seat.
Put voters first, Bersih tells MPs offering seats to Anwar
PETALING JAYA – Electoral group Bersih 2.0 says politicians should put the voters as their priority before deciding whether to give up their positions as MPs.
Acting chairman Shahrul Amaan Mohd Shaari said that whatever decision was made by the party and its leaders, there would be repercussions since it involved voters.
“We do not want it to be a ‘habit’ for MPs or assemblymen to relinquish their seats as a ‘sacrifice’ to the party,” he told FMT.
Shahrul was responding to statements by several PKR MPs who said they were willing to make way for de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar won the PKR presidency post unopposed over the weekend. He said today that he was in no rush to be prime minister as his priority was to be MP first.
Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul and Selayang MP William Leong had said they were willing to “vacate” their seats so that Anwar could stand in the by-election.
Leong also claimed that there were many others among the 51 PKR MPs who were willing to give up their parliamentary seats for Anwar.
However, PKR Wanita Chief Zuraida Kamaruddin dismissed Leong’s claim, saying not all MPs were willing to step down to make way for Anwar, who will officially take over as the new PKR president later this year.
C4 executive director Cynthia Gabriel criticised PKR leaders’ intention to vacate their seats.
“Gosh… No one should give up their seats, please. You owe a duty to your voters. Wait it out till an opportunity arises. Win a new seat and add value to your party,” she said on Twitter.
Shahrul also said having by-elections at this time would be costly to the people and political parties.
“And the results may not be what the parties want, like the Kajang Move,” he said.
The Kajang Move in 2014 was a political manoeuvre to topple then-Selangor menteri besar Khalid Ibrahim and replace him with Anwar. It failed because Anwar was disqualified as an election candidate after he was convicted of sodomy and sentenced to five years’ jail.
Anwar’s wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail stood for election in Kajang in Anwar’s place and was nominated to replace Khalid, who refused to budge and was sacked from the party, causing a constitutional crisis that lasted for months. It was eventually resolved when the Sultan of Selangor appointed PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali to take over.
Meanwhile, former Sungai Benut MP Tawfik Ismail from Umno also disagreed with parliamentarians who wanted to give up their seats for Anwar. He said the move was “morally” wrong.
“There’s no principle to justify giving (up) a seat. If it’s vacant, anyone can contest.
“This is not something ‘personal’ you can give away like your books or pen,” he said, adding that elected representatives had worked hard to win and retain seats.
Tawfik said he and former Kangar MP Radzi Sheikh Ahmad did not vacate their seats when Umno was declared illegal. Instead, they maintained their positions as MPs.
Activist Thomas Fann from pro-reform group Engage said the voters had the final say on PKR’s decision to pave the way for Anwar to be the eighth prime minister.
“If they feel this is unacceptable, their views will be reflected in the polls,” he said.
– FMT
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