ISSUES plaguing the prime minister’s succession plan must be resolved soon as the matter is dragging Malaysia through the mud, said P. Ramasamy.

The Penang deputy chief minister II, in a Facebook post, said the row has “polarised the governance of the country”.

He said the succession plan appears yet to be finalised despite there having been an explicit agreement that PKR president Anwar Ibrahim will take over from Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

There are forces at work to derail the plan, he added.

“These forces want Dr Mahathir to continue for a full term, saying the succession agreement is not set in stone.

“This is the stand of PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, who had a fallout with Anwar over the sex video issue.”

The matter of who will succeed Dr Mahathir is still in limbo, and Anwar has brushed aside detractors’ remarks that he is unfit to take the prime minister’s office.

Ramasamy said beneath the surface, “strange political manoeuvrings” are taking place daily.

The Prai assemblyman from DAP said there may be Umno and PAS folk seeking to team up with some Pakatan Harapan leaders to ensure Anwar does not become prime minister.

This does not mean these people are staunch supporters of Dr Mahathir, he said, as they could have their own agendas for not wanting Anwar to get the post.

“Perhaps, there is a realisation that if they can get into Dr Mahathir’s good books, they can get a taste of federal power, and at the same time, they expect him to drop the 1Malaysia Development Bhd corruption charges against some Umno leaders, as well as those in PAS.

“PAS, for all its sanctimonious talk, is heavily implicated in the scandal. One of its leaders was charged recently,” he said, referring to the Islamist party’s former deputy president, Nasharudin Mat Isa, who earlier this week claimed trial to three counts of money-laundering and 30 counts of criminal breach of trust.

Ramasamy added that the Malay Dignity Congress on October 6 was not an “isolated episode”, saying it was meant to shore up Malay support for Dr Mahathir and his party, Bersatu.

“It might have been organised to give the impression that only Dr Mahathir can provide crucial leadership, and not Anwar. All gatherings have their intended and unintended consequences.” – October 26, 2019.