Anwar as PM not sole factor to secure opposition victory in GE15 - Salahuddin

 

Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub believes there is no dispute within Pakatan Harapan that PKR president Anwar Ibrahim is the prime ministerial candidate but, he added, this won't be the sole factor in trying to convince voters to return the coalition to power in the 15th general election.

Salahuddin said the second-tier leaders in the opposition are also expected to play an important role, including the non-Harapan leaders in the opposition.

Among the leaders he cited were Warisan president Shafie Apdal and Pejuang pro-tem president Mukhriz Mahathir.

"For sure, under Harapan's agreement, Anwar is the prime ministerial candidate. But that does not mean it is the only factor to ensure our victory," he told Malaysiakini today.

Salahuddin is among the main proponents of forming a grand coalition in the opposition, despite the icy relations between Anwar and Pejuang pro-tem chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The goal, Salahuddin said, is to complement the likelihood of an opposition victory in the next general election.

'Our role is to complement Harapan's victory'

"In Harapan, there are many leaders who can help. Our role is to complement Harapan's victory and this includes leaders from Pejuang like Mukhriz and Shafie of Warisan," he said.

The opposition is setting its sights on the next general election, after failing to regain power through the Dewan Rakyat following its ouster in late February.

Harapan and its allies won the 2018 general election but the coalition government collapsed 22 months later after Bersatu quit the coalition and a group of MPs led by former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali defected.

Anwar claimed in September that he managed to garner the support of enough MPs to retake Putrajaya but this support did not materialise during the Budget 2021 sitting.

Budget 2021, which acted as a proxy confidence vote for Perikatan Nasional's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, was narrowly passed in the Dewan Rakyat with 111 MPs voting in favour and 108 against. - Mkini