3 Pakatan parties pick Dr Mahathir to lead again

Chan Kok Leong Chan Kok Leong Updated 3 years ago · Published on 13 Jun 2020 7:00AM · 12 Comments

Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the PKR headquarters on Tuesday. The opposition wants the former prime minister to lead Pakatan Harapan to fight Muhyiddin Yassin and Najib Razak. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Hasnoor Hussain, June 13, 2020.

DAP, Amanah and Warisan want Dr Mahathir Mohamad to be prime minister and Anwar Ibrahim his deputy if the opposition regains control of Putrajaya, sources told The Malaysian Insight.

“We feel this is the best pairing, whether we get to take back Putrajaya now or in the next general elections,” said a senior party leader.

The decision on the Dr Mahathir-Anwar team was made at Pakatan Harapan’s meeting on Tuesday when the former prime minister and PH chairman went to the PKR headquarters.

“We are facing a dangerous partnership of Muhyiddin Yassin and Najib Razak and we felt that only Dr Mahathir and Anwar have the stature to make a viable challenge,” said the source.

This was one of two options decided by PH during its earlier meeting on May 30 where Dr Mahathir was not present.

“One option was to have Anwar be the prime minister and Mukhriz Mahathir as his deputy, and the other option was to have Dr Mahathir and Anwar.

“But after our meeting on Tuesday, DAP, Amanah, Warisan and the other Bersatu leaders decided on the Dr Mahathir-Anwar formula,” said the party leader.

One reason, said the source, is Dr Mahathir’s popularity among the Malays.

“If there are fresh elections, we are going to face Umno, PAS and Bersatu who will ride on the Malay support and we need someone who can challenge this.”

In a survey conducted by Merdeka Centre on Opinion Research last November, 58% of Malay voters picked Dr Mahathir to lead the country while only 13% preferred Anwar.

Anwar, however, fared better among non-Malays, as 58% Chinese and 62% Indians picked the PKR president over Dr Mahathir.

But PH’s plan has hit a snag as PKR is undecided, said another party leader.

The deal is on hold as PKR wants another week to mull on it, he said.

“PKR wants Anwar at the forefront instead of Dr Mahathir. As such, we will just have to wait and see what they decide before our next move.”

PKR’s dissatisfaction with the general consensus reached by Amanah, Warisan and DAP was shared by its deputy youth chief Ahmad Syukri Razak on Facebook on Wednesday.

“They want PKR to be magnanimous and accept Dr Mahathir as PM again. They said national interests should be above personal interest.

“But it will be a miracle if Anwar agrees to this,” said Syukri.

PH is made up of DAP which has 42 MPs, PKR (37) and Amanah (11). Warisan has 10 MPs together with Upko. – June 13, 2020.

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Comments

  • Why calling on the snake when you know it will bite the moment is right

    Posted 3 years ago by VIVHEGA DHARMAR · Reply

    • Pakai otak / be analytical facing the coming elections and the Malay support against the looters Najib and Moo. Does Anwar have the guts to speak like Mahathir? He might be barred entering the kampongs even like what they UMNO did last time. No one dare to stop Tun and even the police will hesitate to arrest him.

      Posted 3 years ago by Swaminaidu Venkatasamy · Reply

  • If that's the arrangement, add on when will Dr M quit? He will play the rest out and down with power in hand. PH must have a strategy to win over The Malays. How can PH be so incompetent? You guys can't convince the Malays that u all are better than the thieves? There are somethings seriously wrong with PH strategists! Your communication tools to rural Malays? Your channel/network? Your resources? Your action plan?

    Posted 3 years ago by James Wong · Reply

    • Question here is Tun at 95 now, how long he can go on? Anwar still has many years if really has the ambition to be PM. Now important thing is to fight BN / PN Combo with the looters having joined hands and getting the moneys released from banks after being freezed. Now Appandi is trying to get Najib released with all sorts of execuses believed to be coaxed.

      Posted 3 years ago by Swaminaidu Venkatasamy · Reply

  • Seriously
    Back to square one

    Posted 3 years ago by Lan Lan · Reply

  • Unbelievable!!

    Posted 3 years ago by Elyse Gim · Reply

  • Just stay in opposition.
    Better the thieves than the snake

    Posted 3 years ago by Watch Dog · Reply

  • Why so eager to win malay votes. Dont the malays what is going on in the country . Are malays so naive that non malays hv to give a WAKE UP call to them. Just do what is RIGHT Sustain RULE OF LAW. DIVINE WILL HELP US. Mahathir is a Snake that has bit us very hard from the begining till now. Today LET HIM PAY HIS KARMA. No any human can escape from Wrong Doing. How sure are u guys that the SNAKE WILL NOT BITE US FOR THE THIRD TIME.

    Posted 3 years ago by Lucky Boy · Reply

  • Firstly, i doubted anwar will agree on such a pairing and same go to muafakat nasional pairing. Dont b childish thinking. If muafakat win, muyhiddin will not in the picture. He just like a puppet being used to dicthed PH frm power.

    Posted 3 years ago by Dan Lim · Reply

  • From the frying pan to the fire, and back to the frying pan again? Tak payah. Dont waste our time!

    Posted 3 years ago by No Gostan · Reply

  • Have PH leaders gone mad? U dare 2 trust ancient one who has betrayed coalition n broken up the government, who doesn't kerp his promises, who dismisses the election manifesto?

    Posted 3 years ago by Jing Ling Tan · Reply

  • I hope Anwar has become wiser or he should learn from past experience.

    Old fox had slapped Anwar twice already. Please do not get slapped by the old fox the third time.

    Better to be in opposition than dream that the old fox will hand over the PM post to Anwar. Fat hope slim chance.

    Posted 3 years ago by Goh Chua · Reply