PAKATAN Harapan (PH) chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad is better as a senior minister instead of prime minister because of his years of experience in government, PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin said today.

Having been prime minister for 22 years, Dr Mahathir should not return to the same office, the Ampang MP told reporters after the launch of PH’s Wanita convention in Kajang today.

“He has a track record as a statesman and he deserves to be a senior minister and not the prime minister. I think on principle, this makes him more eligible to be a senior minister. It’s not because of Reformasi,” she said.

Reformasi refers to the period in the late 1990s after Dr Mahathir sacked then deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim who was then tried and jailed for sodomy and corruption. The party KeAdilan was born, later becoming PKR, and Anwar became an opposition icon.

Zuraida’s remarks today come after her statement earlier this week when she proposed Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali and former Kedah menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir as PH’s prime minister and deputy prime minister candidates should it win the 14th general election.

She said they were younger and their selection would be more in line with the trend of younger leaders becoming heads of government in other countries.

PH president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who launched the women’s convention, declined to comment on the issue which has weighed down the opposition after it was reported that PKR was the only component party that disagreed with nominating Dr Mahathir as interim prime minister.

“We have not concluded (anything), there are many eligible candidates,” said Dr Wan Azizah, who is also PKR president. She asked all parties to wait for the decision that will be announced tomorrow at the PH Convention.

Last week, sources told The Malaysian Insight that PKR had laid down three conditions for its consent to Dr Mahathir as the PM candidate. One, Anwar must be made prime minister within a year of PH winning the election; two, PKR is to be given the bulk of federal seats in Peninsular Malaysia to contest; and three, Dr Mahathir must agree to institutional reforms when he is prime minister.

Dr Mahathir is also Bersatu chairman.

But Anwar is  delaying the decision on grounds that more feedback from civil society groups and activists was needed.

Other PH leaders, however, have said that the pact should name its prime minister candidate ahead of the election as part of its strategy.

PH secretary-general Saifuddin Abdullah said Anwar may be the best choice for PM but because he was still in jail, naming Dr Mahathir as interim prime minister was necessary.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin also said PH had no choice but to name its prime minister candidate ahead of the polls to win voter confidence.