FORMER prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad made a rare appearance at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya today to attend a meeting of the Pakatan Harapan presidential council.

The meeting is being chaired by PKR president and opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, amid talk that PH is gathering support from MPs to retake the federal government.

Others attending the meeting are Jerlun MP Mukhriz Mahathir and former Bersatu secretary-general Marzuki Yahya.

Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal, another PH ally, is also attending the meeting.

Shafie declined to comment when approached by reporters, but said this was his first visit to the PKR headquarters.

Others at the meeting are the heads of PH parties – Amamah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

Dr Mahathir was formerly Bersatu and PH chairman when he was prime minister, but stopped after Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin withdrew the party from the coalition that won the 2018 general election and formed the federal government.

The nonagenarian Langkawi MP and his son, Mukhriz, as well as other MPs aligned with him, had their Bersatu memberships removed last month for opposing Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional government.

Today’s PH presidential council meeting is the first time both Dr Mahathir and Anwar have come together in public since Perikatan removed the PH government.

The council had been attempting to forge a clear transition plan for Dr Mahathir to hand over the prime minister’s post to Anwar prior to PH’s collapse.

Anwar was absent at a May 18 press conference Dr Mahathir and other PH leaders held after the one-day Parliament sitting, and was again absent from a meeting Amanah and DAP leaders held with Dr Mahathir last week. – June 9, 2020.