Mahathir trying to prevent Harapan's return to power - PKR

 

PKR has accused former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad of trying to prevent Pakatan Harapan from returning to power.

This came after the former Harapan chairperson publicly claimed PKR president Anwar Ibrahim is incapable of leading the country through an economic crisis.

Anwar is Harapan's first choice for prime minister if the coalition can regain Putrajaya after it was ousted in February due to defections.

"Mahathir is showing that he is desperate to remain relevant in mainstream politics.

"His attack against Anwar is baseless and can only be described as an attempt to betray Harapan and thwart its efforts to retake the government," said PKR information chief Shamsul Iskandar (above).

The feud between Mahathir and Anwar has prevented a unified opposition.

Mahathir served as prime minister after Harapan won the 2018 general election with the promise of eventually handing over power to Anwar.

However, behind closed doors, Mahathir had indicated he did not plan to muster the necessary support for Anwar to make it happen.

Based on a leaked recording, at the time Mahathir acknowledged his party Bersatu's unwillingness to accept Anwar and asked for more time.

However, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin then made his move by pulling out the party and its allies from Harapan.

An upset Mahathir subsequently resigned as prime minister and Bersatu chairperson. He was also peeved by Muhyiddin's willingness to work with Umno.

However, Muhyiddin's new government is fragile as he only commands the support of 113 MPs in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat.

Shamsul said the current political instability would not have happened if Mahathir had not resigned as premier. 

Mahathir later admitted that his resignation was a mistake with the Sarawak-based GPS abandoning him for Muhyiddin as prime minister.

The nonagenarian politician now leads a new but yet-to-be registered party - Pejuang. It is not part of Harapan but is friendly with DAP and Amanah. The same cannot be said for PKR.

"Mahathir's decision to resign without consultation with Harapan leaders was the cause of the (Harapan) government's fall and made Muhyiddin's betrayal and coup possible," Shamsul said.

He added that Anwar was now trying to gather support in order to restore the mandate of the people which voted for Harapan in the last general election.

"Mahathir needs to cease actions that appear aimed at splitting Harapan and thwarting its efforts (to return to power).

"Mahathir should self-reflect and realise that all the political instability in the country today is due to his own actions.

"He should act like a statesman and assist Anwar in restoring the people's mandate instead of thwarting him," Shamsul said.

Mahathir, in an interview with The Malaysian Insight, claimed Anwar was not the right person for prime minister.

The 95-year-old called into question Anwar's capability, using Anwar's tenure as deputy prime minister and finance minister in 1997 as an example.

“I had tested his capabilities when I was prime minister. I took a holiday for two months and Anwar took over the reins. We had an economic crisis at the time, and his suggestions did not help the country recover its financial standing.

“That is why I had to take over the finance minister's post and come up with plans to save the country from its economic woes.

“I do not know how the people saw this, but what was clear during the financial crisis in 1997 was that Anwar was not capable,” Mahathir was quoted as saying.

In a separate statement, Pejuang information chief Ulya Aqamah Husamudin (photo) dismissed the accusation by PKR.

“Everyone knows that the source of the Sheraton Move was due to the betrayal by Azmin Ali’s camp as well as Muhyiddin.

“If Mahathir wanted to stay on as prime minister until today, he can align with the Perikatan Nasional government because he was actually their candidate for prime minister.

“However, Mahathir did not agree with the betrayal and he was ready to be kicked out of the party he built to defend the rakyat’s mandate and fulfil his promise to the Pakatan Harapan component parties,” Ulya said.

He said even if Mahathir had not resigned, Bersatu and Azmin’s camp would have still left Harapan resulting in the fall of the government.

He also said PKR did not want to work with Pejuang from the beginning and as such, Pejuang was not included in the numbers when Anwar announced he had enough support to form a new government.

“How can this accusation be thrown against Mahathir and Pejuang when it was Anwar’s side which did not discuss the matter of support (with Pejuang)?” Ulya asked.

He said Mahathir’s recent statements against Anwar had nothing to do with the Sheraton Move and only referred to his experiences when he was the fourth prime minister from 1981 to 2003.

“The opposition should stop fighting among ourselves about such trivial and minor things.

“We should find a common point, consolidate our efforts, and work together to reject the government which was stolen by the kleptocrats,” Ulya said.- Mkini