The plan to table a vote of confidence for Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s leadership and for him to serve until the end of his five-year term is construed as an attempt to prevent PKR president Anwar Ibrahim from succeeding him.
When this question was posed to Anwar’s political secretary, Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak (above), he replied: “Let us call a spade a spade.”
“This is definitely a mischievous attempt,” he told Malaysiakini this afternoon.
However, Farhash claimed that the move has not raised the alarm in Anwar’s camp because the PKR leader believes he still has the numbers with regard to support from federal lawmakers.
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“We are not too concerned about this. ‘DSAI’ (Anwar) has mentioned it several times.
“Tun (Mahathir) has the floor and the confidence to lead for now. The transition will take place and he (Anwar) does not mind waiting for another six months,” he added.
Although Mahathir has distanced himself from PAS’ move to table the vote of confidence, there are still those who believe the premier and those aligned to him are involved.
However, Farhash declined to speculate on this.
Umno sec-gen: Focus on nation, not individual ambitions
In a Twitter post earlier, Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa said the vote of confidence for Mahathir would assist Harapan in focussing on pertinent issues instead of the ambitions of certain individuals.
He said the motion would present an opportunity to Harapan to consolidate and strengthen the institution of the prime minister.
“So that Harapan can focus and perform in administering the nation. Prioritise the nation, not individual ambitions,” he added.
Although he did not mention names, his remarks were clearly aimed at Anwar, whose future continues to be the subject of speculation despite Mahathir and him assuring that the transition would take place as agreed.
Speaking to reporters last night, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan said the party has not decided whether to support the vote of confidence for Mahathir, which PAS plans to table during the next Parliament sitting in March.
Last Saturday, PAS president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man announced that the Islamist party would move for a vote of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat as well as for Mahathir to serve as prime minister until the end of his five-year term.
The move, according to PAS, is to pre-empt a possible vote of no-confidence being tabled against the premier by those dissatisfied with his leadership.
In an interview with Reuters, published last week, Anwar said he had no qualms waiting another six months to become the prime minister.
“You have waited 20 years, extending six months doesn’t actually matter,” he added. – MKINI
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