MUKHRIZ Mahathir was never going to replace Anwar Ibrahim as the prime minister candidate after Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned, the former Kedah menteri besar said.
Mukhriz told Insight Talk that speculations that he will replace Anwar were simply allegations made by those who did not know how a prime minister is appointed.
He said his father was adamant that Anwar would succeed him when he stepped down.
“I was not in his plan (to replace Anwar as PM) and his position was that Anwar will take over,” he said.
Mukhriz said he had personally asked his father about the power transition.
“Whatever happens, he said, he will hand it over to Anwar. He wanted to end his political career, his legacy, by handing the prime minister’s position to Anwar. It was only a matter of time.”
Dr Mahathir became the country’s 7th prime minister following Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) victory in the last general election. It was agreed by PKR, DAP, Amanah and Bersatu that Dr Mahathir would be replaced by Anwar in two years time.
However, the power transition became a hot topic for PKR and Anwar’s supporters, who kept questioning Bersatu and the 95-year-old Dr Mahathir on when it would happen.
Dr Mahathir had previously said he would hand over the position to Anwar after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit at the end of the year.
The former prime minister was accused of trying to delay the power transition and was portrayed as trying to break his promise to his former deputy.
Dr Mahathir resigned as the prime minister in February following Bersatu’s decision to quit PH.
Initially, Umno and PAS had thrown their support behind the nonagenarian to continue to lead the country.
However, the two parties decided to back Muhyiddin Yassin after Dr Mahathir refused to work with several Umno members who are facing corruption charges.
Muhyiddin was sworn in as the prime minister after Dr Mahathir and Anwar failed to present the numbers to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, indicating how much support they had from the 222 parliamentarians. – September 10, 2020.
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