Mechanisms in place to ensure Dr M steps down in six months, explains DAP

There are mechanisms in place to ensure Dr Mahathir Mohamad would step down at the stipulated period if he becomes prime minister for the third time, according to DAP.

In an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini, party organising secretary Anthony Loke acknowledged there would be reservations and scepticism regarding the matter.

"Of course, people can question if he will keep his promise. Our answer to that is six months down the road, there are mechanisms to make that happen.

"PKR has 38 MPs. Without them, Mahathir cannot continue to govern.

“Each party will be able to bring down the government by itself if they pull out. If the promise is not kept (by Mahathir), PKR has the option to force an election by that time," he added.

According to Loke (below), Pakatan Harapan is obliged to form the government with its allies because of the mandate given during the 2018 election.

Responding to a question, he said DAP is more inclined to learn from past mistakes instead of indulging in a blame game on who is responsible for the collapse of the Harapan government.

"Of course if you want to play the blame game, everyone will blame each other. We are willing to learn from the past and move on.

"If we play the blame game, one side will blame Mahathir, his side will blame another. There will be no end to that.

"I am not saying Mahathir didn't make any mistakes. We have told him that he resigned without consulting anybody and that caused the collapse of the (Harapan) government," he added.

Loke also confirmed that Mahathir, 95, had requested to helm the nation for six months before passing the baton to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

For context, Harapan - Bersatu, DAP, PKR and Amanah - had signed an agreement on Jan 7, 2018 naming Mahathir as their candidate for prime minister and Anwar as his successor.

This time around, “Pakatan Harapan Plus” is proposing a repeat of the combination from 1993 to 1998 with Mahathir as the prime minister and Anwar as number two.

'Mahathir and Anwar must work together'

Elaborating, Loke said the Mahathir-Anwar dynamics must not be seen as a zero-sum game and the pair must work together if the mandate from voters in 2018 is to be respected.

"As far as DAP is concerned, we don't look at Anwar and Mahathir as a zero-sum game. They must work together.

"We need the numbers to unseat Perikatan Nasional. So both leaders must work together,” he added.

On the same note, Loke said DAP understands that it would be a difficult decision for Anwar to set aside his differences with Mahathir again.

“We fully understand this," he added.

On whether Mahathir had tried to position his son Mukhriz (above) in the “Pakatan Harapan plus” negotiations, Loke replied in the negative.

"To be fair to him (Mahathir), he has never taken his son's political future as a consideration (in the discussions). He never said his son must be given positions," he added.

Loke also clarified that discussions focussed on two combinations – Anwar and Mukhriz as well as Mahathir and Anwar. Warisan president Shafie Apdal was never in the running.

Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that Warisan had objected to the Anwar and Mukhriz combination. - Mkini