Immediate transition? Harapan can sack me if they want - PM

Responding to calls for him to immediately step down and hand over the baton to Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said Pakatan Harapan can sack him if they want.

The 94-year-old Bersatu chairperson told this to a press conference at the party's headquarters this evening when asked if a quick transition between him and Anwar would be able to solve leadership issues in the Harapan coalition.

"Well, it is up to the party.

"They (Harapan presidential council) can sack me if they want to," said Mahathir.

Following Harapan's loss in the Tanjung Piai by-election last week, there have been growing calls for Mahathir to speed up the power transition to Anwar, who had been agreed upon by the Harapan presidential council to be the next prime minister.

However, according to Mahathir today, such transition would create problems if it was made "midstream".

While it is not important what happens to him, he added, the impact on the country and government is very important.

"The thing is that if you have changes midstream, it is very confusing. It creates a lot of problems.

"But of course if I'm sacked I don't know. But I think I need to be serious about this thing.

"What happens to me is not something important. But what happens to the government and the country is really important," he said.

Asked on Anwar's statement today that there would not be an attempt to move a vote of no confidence against him at the parliament, Mahathir sarcastically said "Thank you."

However, he added later that anyone can make such a move as Malaysia is a democratic country.

"You can do whatever you want. We are democratic party, democratic nation.

"You can move a vote of non-confidence, or you can move a vote of confidence," he said.

Asked for his comments on the level of support he commands in Harapan today, Mahathir said he believed there are still those who liked him.

"So far nobody punched me in the nose yet," he quipped.

Leadership issues in the governing coalition appeared to be more apparent this week, with the latest being Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali, who is known to favour Mahathir over Anwar, reportedly holding a meeting with opposition Umno MPs on Monday evening. - Mkini