PAKATAN Harapan will resolve the issue of who is the opposition prime minister at its presidential council meeting tomorrow, said coalition chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“We have not decided (yet) but tomorrow is the 4th and we are having the presidential council meeting. Tomorrow we will know (who will be prime minister),” said the 92-year-old in response to a question on  whether PH had come to a decision on who was to be its PM candidate.

“I will stand by the decision of all the four parties. I don’t know if there will be any problems on the PKR side, they have not told me.” he said, on PKR’s three conditions for Dr Mahathir to be selected to the post.

The former prime minister said the issue of him staying on for another 22 years did not arise as he was turning 93.

“I am 92 years old. This year I am 93; obviously I’m not going to be prime minister or whatever prime minister until I am 100 years old,” said Dr Mahathir.

Dr Mahathir said he would be appearing in PH’s upcoming question-and-answer sessions as the coalition chairman.

“This is not a question of (who is prime minister), this is about being the chairman. A chairman has some leeway to answer questions and maybe declare something (on behalf of coalition).

“We are in a position to answer questions; otherwise why should I be the chairman if I can’t even answer questions?”

On the matter of his recent apology, he said it was up to the people to make out for themselves what his apology meant.

“I made the apology for all the mistakes that I might have made or people perceive that I had made during the time I was in politics.

“It is up to them (to interpret his message). They want to think it is about these incidents (Memali tragedy and Ops Lalang); I have my defence but that does not mean people will accept my defence.

“Would you believe me if I told you the truth? You wouldn’t believe me, I know. Especially the opposition at the time (of the forex scandal) would not believe.

“I was painted as a monster, and yet now I am accepted by the people who had painted me as a monster. Why they accept me (now)?” he said.

On the matter of the Registrar of Societies allegedly stonewalling Pakatan Harapan’s registration effort, Dr Mahathir said the coalition was more than wiling to sit down with RoS to discuss the problems it said it had encountered in the registration process.

“We stand to be corrected. We do not want to go against the government. We just dare them to register us.”

Pakatan Harapan chairman had previously urged the people to trust him if they wanted reforms.

At Bersatu’s annual general meeting last week, Dr Mahathir had apologised for his past misdeeds but did not specify which misdeeds they were and when pressed later, said it was “customary” for Malays to apologise if others had been offended.

PKR currently wants its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim for prime minister but he is currently serving time for sodomy. Anwar also cannot contest in an election in the five years after his release, unless the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong intervenes. – January 3, 2018.