PRIME Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he will announce a date to hand over power to Anwar Ibrahim.

He again assured that he will keep his promise to hand over stewardship of the country to the PKR president.

“I’ll announce later but I will keep my promise,” the prime minister told reporters today after launching the Piagam Warisan dan Budaya Tanah Air in Kuala Lumpur.

Anwar had told Bloomberg Television that he expected to become prime minister in mid-2020.

In an interview with the business news channel, the PKR president dismissed others who could be vying for the office, saying they might have “ambitions” but were “irrelevant”.

“There is no sign of any party introducing or promoting or lobbying for other names,” the Port Dickson MP was quoted as saying.

Anwar’s succession is highly expected as it was already agreed between the partners in Pakatan Harapan prior to the elections.

Dr Mahathir is expected to hand over the reins in about two years.

Since PH won federal power last year, speculation had been rife over the timeline for the transfer of power. 

Political rivals, too, have bickered over the succession plan. PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, who is at the centre of a sex video scandal which he denies, has urged Dr Mahathir to serve out a full term for the sake of national stability.

Both Dr Mahathir and Anwar have repeatedly reiterated that the handover of office will take place as agreed. 

On August 30, the 94-year-old prime minister repeated his promise to step down before the end of the five-year term in 2023, to make way for Anwar, 72.