THERE is no consensus on who will be Pakatan Harapan’s interim prime minister if it forms the next government, sources say, even as the pact prepares for a general election speculated this year.

It is learnt that PKR wants either PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail or party deputy Azmin Ali. DAP, meanwhile, is sticking with Dr Wan Azizah.

PH component Parti Pribumi Malaysia Bersatu (Pribumi) has suggested its chairman, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, or president Muhyiddin Yassin.

Sources also told The Malaysian Insight that PH component Amanah wanted Dr Mahathir as interim PM, as the 92-year-old has vast experience in government and would unlikely cling to power because of his age.

Seeking pardon for Anwar

What has been agreed on is that whoever is picked will secure the release of jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim via a royal pardon to pave the way for the 69-year-old to be prime minister.

PH rival, Barisan Nasional, has seized on this, pointing out that PH and Pribumi are unable to agree on the fundamental principle of choosing a prime minister, let alone govern the country if they win.

PH’s insistence on Anwar is based on surveys, which show that he remains a popular choice as PM among a significant portion of voters, despite the fact that he is still in jail.

Sources said the idea of an interim prime minister was broached during Muhyiddin’s meeting with Anwar at the latter’s court case in October last year.

It was Muhyiddin’s first meeting with Anwar after the former had formed Pribumi, the newest opposition party made up of former Umno leaders and members critical of Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Muhyiddin as alternative

Sources said Anwar did not commit to Muhyiddin being an interim PM but the idea itself has caught on among some factions of PH and Pribumi.

PH component parties, Amanah and DAP, are agreeable to the suggestion that a senior PKR leader –either Dr Wan Azizah or Azmin – helms the government while the process of freeing Anwar is put into motion. Pribumi has suggested Muhyiddin.

When contacted, PH and Pribumi leaders said the issue was small compared with the more important work of forging a unified, broad-based opposition movement to defeat BN.

“Whoever is the candidate is debateable. It can be Muhyiddin or someone else,” said Pribumi supreme council member Datuk Abdul Kadir Jasin.

“But it will be a practical necessity when the opposition coalition wins the elections and has to form a government. Someone has to put in a recommendation to the Agong to get the royal pardon for Anwar,” said Kadir, when asked about internal deliberations on the issue.

Another PH official said the issue of whether to have an interim prime minister at all and whether to announce the candidate before the elections has not been formally discussed.

The main priorities among PH and Pribumi are to get their respective party machineries to work together, hash out a common manifesto and negotiate a broad pact with other opposition parties to take on BN in one-to-one contests, said the official, who requested anonymity.

Internal squabbling

The official said there were also differences within PH parties as to whether to announce an interim prime minister before or after the opposition takes over the government to prevent the issue from being exploited by rivals.

Dr Mahathir represents the opinion that the decision should be made if PH and Pribumi win the elections. 

“There is no point getting divided and fighting over this issue when we have not even won the elections,” Dr Mahathir has repeatedly told the media when asked on the opposition’s candidate for prime minister.

Amanah communications director Khalid Samad said PH and Pribumi’s main focus was the manifesto, policies, reform agenda and freeing Anwar.

“We will decide this issue (interim PM) based on the results from the elections. What is important is that Anwar will be the prime minister,” Khalid said.

PH secretariat head Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah disagreed with the idea of an interim prime minister as this would confuse voters.

“We should have a proper PM candidate with a proper cabinet. An interim prime minister would look like a lame duck,” he said.

Saifuddin, who is also a PKR member, also refused to comment on whether Dr Wan Azizah or Azmin should be the interim prime minister.

‘Not qualified to govern’

BN’s Tan Keng Liang said the indecisiveness and the idea that Anwar was still qualified was a fundamental flaw of PH and its allies, and which made them unfit to govern.

“It’s a norm for any opposition party in a democratic country to name their designated PM,” said Tan, who is Gerakan Youth chief.

“It’s odd that the opposition in Malaysia is unable to give a clear picture who will be their designated PM. Personally, I feel Anwar is already a past icon and no longer a feasible ‘designated PM’.”

However, a survey by think-tank Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) showed that Anwar came out tops among all opposition leaders, including Dr Mahathir, Muhyiddin, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, as the most qualified to become prime minister.

IDE director Prof Shaharuddin Badaruddin said its November survey showed that 30% of more than 1,700 respondents in Selangor chose Anwar as the best qualified to become prime minister. This was followed by Dr Mahathir at 24%, Muhyiddin (17%), Lim (15%) and Hadi (14%).

“Although this was conducted in Selangor, it can be used as an indicator for the west coast peninsular states with the same demographics as Selangor,” said Shaharuddin, a political scientist.

The findings put to rest the idea that Anwar was no longer relevant, said Shaharuddin, since the former deputy prime minister could still garner support while serving a jail term for sodomy. – April 1, 2017.