Hard now for Pakatan to wrest back power, says Dr Mahathir

Updated 3 years ago · Published on 14 Jul 2020 7:41PM · 6 Comments

PAKATAN Harapan faces an uphill task taking back Putrajaya as Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has secured support in parliament by offering the MPs lucrative posts, Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

“We need sufficient numbers to come back but Muhyiddin enticed many of my supporters to join him. He offered lucrative posts and now I don’t think I can get the majority.”

“However, the government of the day, too, is not sure if it can get the majority,” he said in an interview with Hong Kong-based news agency Investvine.

“Muhyiddin wants to make use of these posts to award people who support him or to make people support him by giving them these posts.

“He’s already removed head of companies who were appointed during my time as PM, and chairmen at government-linked companies, and now the speaker.”

Muhyiddin yesterday had Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof removed in a vote in parliament yesterday. The motion was passed 111 to 109.

Ariff was made speaker when the the PH government came into power in 2018 and has been praised for being impartial and abiding by parliamentary rules.

Dr Mahathir said the speaker had allowed him to to table a motion of no-confidence against Muhyiddin and this had “annoyed the prime minister”.

“So he appointed someone who is more compliant,” the 95-year-old Dr Mahathir said.

Former Election Commission chairman Azhar Azizan Harun was made the speaker yesterday without a vote on the basis that he was the sole candidate. Opposition MPs, however, protested that they should have been allowed to nominate an alternative candidate.

Dr Mahathir said things could have been different today if PKR president Anwar Ibrahim had not convinced the PH MPs that he had the numbers in parliament, which had led to the PH presidential council to to name Anwar as the prime ministerial candidate.

“The story might have been different now if they had chosen the Langkawi MP,” he said, referring to himself.

“I expected my coalition to name me but for some reason they chose Anwar Ibrahim who had convinced them that he had the numbers.

“So PH named him but in the end he didn’t get the majority…Things didn’t work out.”

Dr Mahathir resigned as prime minister in February after his party Bersatu, led by Muhyiddin, withdrew from PH to join Barisan Nasional, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak in forming a new coalition.

When the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong asked to meet the MPs to find out which candidate had the majority support to be prime minister, PH initially proposed Dr Mahathir as its PM candidate but that changed after the nonagenarian, who was then interim prime minister, announced that he wanted to form a unity government of ministers of his choosing regardless of party affiliations.

Muhyiddin was sworn in as prime minister on March 1 after the King determined that he had the majority support after meeting with the heads of political parties. – July 14, 2020.

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Comments

  • Because a stupid old fool resigned in order to achieve his own agenda and self- interest! Que sera sera. Pakatan Harapan will fight on its own. God Permits. DAP has been fighting for 60 years as opposition. We will fight for another 60 years if necessary.

    Posted 3 years ago by Tong King Kong · Reply

  • No worry sir, power comes from the people. People will vote for the right people to become MPs. Crooks who sit on the lucrative posts will not be there for too long. Only politicians who are with the people and work for the people will stay long.

    Posted 3 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • Dont blame Anwar. If Mahathir hadnt insisted on resigning as PM none of this would have happened. PH will still be ruling. Mahathir is blaming everyone else but himself.

    Posted 3 years ago by Elyse Gim · Reply

    • if you can trust him , he will pass the PM post to Anwar.

      Posted 3 years ago by Astann astann · Reply

  • Tun M please join PN.

    Posted 3 years ago by Thomas Samuel · Reply

  • Thanks to who??

    Posted 3 years ago by Teruna Kelana · Reply