ANWAR Ibrahim said he did not attend a meeting with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and other Pakatan Harapan leaders because it was related to cabinet matters.

The PKR president said Dr Mahathir had only invited party leaders who are also ministers to the meeting as it was to discuss government affairs.

“Dr Mahathir called party leaders in the cabinet and that is why (Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan) Azizah (Wan Ismail) was there. It was not an official party meeting. It was not a Pakatan Harapan meeting,” he said.

“The meeting was among ministers who represent Pakatan Harapan in the cabinet. It is not a problem. Maybe one or two people may make noise. But that’s normal,” Anwar, who is also Port Dickson MP, told reporters in his constituency today.

Yesterday, PKR communication director Fahmi Fadzil had said that Anwar had skipped the meeting as it was for PH leaders involved in the formation of the cabinet last year.

In a statement, Fahmi said the party president at that time was Wan Azizah, so she was invited to the meeting instead of Anwar.

Fahmi said the meeting was for the prime minister to get feedback on government operations from the PH leaders. The meeting also touched on ministers’ portfolios and their respective ministries.

Fahmi was responding to a statement posted on Facebook by a staunch supporter of Dr Mahathir, Khairuddin Abu Hassan, who accused Anwar of being “egoistic and disrespectful” for not attending the meeting.

Fahmi had said Khairuddin’s accusations had no basis, was malicious and made with bad intent.

Khairuddin’s claim came amid reports that a cabinet reshuffle was in the works and could be announced as soon as next week, according to sources.

In his Facebook post, Khairuddin accused the prime minister designate of not respecting PH consensus by staying away from the meeting.

He questioned why Anwar had skipped the meeting and if the PKR political bureau meeting he chaired yesterday was more important than a meeting called by the prime minister.

However, yesterday, Dr Mahathir shut down talks of a cabinet reshuffle but said he was mulling swapping some portfolios among his ministers.

He also said he would not be inducting new members into his cabinet, squashing talk that Jeli MP Mustafa Mohamad was set to join the cabinet in the reshuffle. – August 23, 2019.