OPPOSITION leader Anwar Ibrahim admitted that he had no choice but to trust Dr Mahathir Mohamad when Pakatan Harapan (PH) decided to cooperate with the former Umno president.

Speaking at a forum organised by Majlis Professor Negara this morning, Anwar said he had reminded PH leaders to be wary when negotiating with Dr Mahathir.

Anwar was still in prison when PH defeated Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 14th general election.

“I accepted (the cooperation to work with Dr Mahathir) because I follow PH’s consensus. It was a move that had to be done. The situation at that time left us with no choice.”

“I was not confident. In my letters to the leaders in PH, I made it clear that they need to be careful. I wrote (in my letter) don’t be bitten by a serpent twice,” said Anwar at the forum, which was live streamed on Facebook.

Anwar was pardoned by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as soon as PH took over Putrajaya from BN after March 2018.

He was previously in jail for his second sodomy conviction.

Anwar said PH agreed to work with Dr Mahathir as the nonagenarian was committed to many of PH’s reform agendas.

“He was all in for reform. To be against corruption, to make the justice system better and even agree to let me out of prison.”

PH. comprising of PKR, DAP and Amanah, accepted Dr Mahathir and his party Bersatu to be part of the coalition prior to the 14th general election.

Dr Mahathir himself had met Anwar several times during the latter’s court trial appearances.

Anwar was Dr Mahathir’s deputy before his sacking from the cabinet and Umno in 1998.

Anwar was accused of corruption and was also accused of sexual misconduct before he was sentenced to jail in 1999.

PH defeated BN and the coalition agreed to name Dr Mahathir as the prime ministerial candidate, to be replaced by Anwar later.

However, the issue of a power transition had rocked PH when the coalition was in control.

Some PKR leaders had accused Dr Mahathir as flip-flopping on an exact date to hand over the leadership of the country to Anwar.

The Langkawi Member of Parliament (MP) had told the press that he would be handing over his office to Anwar after the Apec Summit back in 2020.

However, PH did not last until the end of 2020, and, following what has become known as the Sheraton move, Dr Mahathir resigned as the prime minister (PM) and Muhyiddin Yassin took Bersatu out of PH.

The Pagoh MP then struck a deal with Umno and PAS to form a government. With the backing of several parties from Sarawak, Muhyiddin was sworn in as PM in February 2020. – April 10, 2021.