Newly minted senator, Bersatu supreme council member Muhammad Zahid Md Arip expressed surprise that Dr Mahathir Mohamad was willing to meet with PKR chief Anwar Ibrahim and “beg” for his old job back as prime minister.
Zahid (above), who served as political secretary to Mahathir before the two became estranged, nonetheless wished his former boss “all the best”, when asked to comment on the attempts by Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan to wrest back power from Perikatan Nasional.
He also stressed his support for Bersatu president and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, when met by reporters following his swearing-in as Dewan Negara senator earlier today.
“Is it not easy to comment on Dr Mahathir, he is a family friend, he was friends with my grandfather and I worked for him as his political secretary.
“As with Muhyiddin, I wish Mahathir all the best. But I was very surprised that Mahathir was willing to go to the PKR office, willing to meet Anwar, willing to beg for the role of prime minister once more in a situation where the numbers (of MP support) is uncertain.
“I take the opportunity to appeal to all my friends in Bersatu, let’s unite to lend undivided support to Muhyiddin who is our party president. Let's reunite once more,” he said.
On his senatorship, Zahid said he would strive to ensure the upper house was “no mere rubber stamp” and would instead help the government rebuild the nation in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Zahid is the grandson of Ghafar Baba, who was deputy prime minister during Mahathir’s first tenure as premier under Barisan Nasional.
Mahathir and Bersatu supreme council member A Kadir Jasin have claimed that Zahid was among the instigators pushing for Bersatu to leave Pakatan Harapan.
The former prime minister had previously said that he had problems with an aide due to legal issues, believed to be in reference to Zahid, who was implicated in corruption charges against former Felda chairperson Isa Samad (photo).
The Harapan government collapsed after Bersatu, led by Muhyiddin, left the coalition against Mahathir’s wishes and formed a new government with PKR defectors, BN, PAS, GPS, PBS and STAR.
Rais: Give PM space to lead
Mahathir, together with his former rival Anwar, who is opposition leader and Harapan chairperson, have been attempting to amass the necessary support to wrest Putrajaya from PN.
However, Harapan and its allies have been unable to agree on a prime minister candidate.
It is claimed they are struggling to break a deadlock as Anwar is disagreeable to Mahathir’s proposal of returning as premier for six months before handing over the reins to the former.
Meanwhile, former minister Rais Yatim (photo), who was also sworn in as senator today, urged Bersatu, Umno and PAS to cease making statements on their respective parties’ positions in regards to PN.
Instead, he called on all three to unite under Muhyiddin’s leadership for the sake of building up the Malay-Muslim community, alongside other races and to rule the country.
“Any statement on the matter, I see it as their personal views, not parties’ views.
“I am of the view the prime minister must be given the scope and space to show his pattern and support of his leadership.
“How can we strengthen the economy and the lives of people [...] These are (the issues) we must bring up. Not (about) 'my politics' or of those with very sharp tongues [...] the room for wisdom is now,” he said.
Rais, a former Umno minister, said this when asked to comment on statements made by PN party members against each other.
Among those were Bersatu supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan, who called on Umno to "sacrifice a lot" to ensure PN’s viability as a ruling coalition.
His Umno counterpart, Mohd Puad Zarkashi instead stated that Bersatu should dissolve and join Umno as the newer party lacked grassroots. - Mkini
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