FORMER prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad cannot dictate terms if his intention is to save the country, Husam Musa said.

“Why must we follow his conditions for the ‘big tent’?” the former Amanah vice-president said in Putrajaya today. 

“If he is really concerned about the state of the country, he should find ways to cooperate, instead of trying to dictate terms again.”  

Husam, who now heads the Save Kelantan movement, was commenting on the Pejuang chairman’s comments yesterday. 

Dr Mahathir yesterday said Pejuang is open to working with other parties in the next general election so long as Anwar Ibrahim or Muhyiddin Yassin is not allowed to be in charge.

In an interview with Utusan Malaysia, Dr Mahathir said both the PKR and Bersatu presidents were “crooked” and had personal agendas.

But Husam, who was instrumental to Pakatan Harapan (PH) letting Dr Mahathir lead the coalition in the last general election, questioned the Langkawi MP’s motives.

“Isn’t he trying to position himself, too? What’s wrong with other people’s conditions anyway?” he asked. 

The opposition, which comprises PH, Pejuang, Warisan, Muda and Bersatu, are mulling the possibility for cooperation again in the next general election after watching Barisan Nasional and Gabungan Parti Sarawak sweep the last three state elections in Malacca, Johor and Sarawak.

The 73-year-old former Kelantan exco also took Dr Mahathir to task for the fall of the PH government in 2020. 

“Before the 14th general election, Dr Mahathir had signed an agreement to be prime minister for only two years before handing over to Anwar. If he had done that, this situation wouldn’t have arisen,” he said. 

Husam said he had witnessed the agreement, which was signed by Muhyiddin, Dr Mahathir, Mohamad Sabu and Lim Guan Eng, and is now kept by the PH secretariat. 

“And at the last PH presidential council meeting on February 21, 2020 (before the Sheraton Move), Anwar had urged Dr Mahathir to continue to be prime minister,” he said. 

“But on Monday, he resigned without discussing with anybody in PH.”

Husam was commenting on Dr Mahathir’s remarks that he would still be prime minister had PH voted for him instead of Anwar in 2020. 

But Husam said this was all in the past and political parties should move on instead of dwelling in the past. 

“Let’s not talk about how to position ourselves or our parties. That’s secondary. The more important task is to find a way to restore voters’ confidence in us,” he added. – June 4, 2022.