FORMER prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad revealed in a podcast today he was ready to hand over the prime minister’s post to Anwar Ibrahim but his plan was scuttled by the Sheraton Move.

“I am a man of my word. I would keep my promise and was going to hand him the post as agreed,” the 98-year-old said

“When PKR, DAP and Amanah chose me as prime minister, they agreed I would have to hand it over to Anwar when the time came.

“But the government was brought down before I could do that.

“Azmin Ali and a few of his men decided to leave Pakatan Harapan and there was nothing I could do.

“Even if I gave it to him, he could not become the prime minister because there was not enough support,” he said.

Dr Mahathir was asked by Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan in the “Keluar Sekejap” podcast on why he did not give up his post to Anwar during their time together in Pakatan Harapan.

76-year-old Anwar eventually became the country’s 10th prime minister in 2022 after getting a majority support.

Anwar managed to convince Umno party leaders – including those from Sabah and Sarawak to form a unity government.

However, two-time prime minister Dr Mahathir lost terribly, including his deposit, in Langkawi to Perikatan Nasional’s Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah.

Dr Mahathir contested under the Pejuang banner, a party he helped form after he was dismissed from Bersatu. – November 13, 2023.