DISAGREEMENTS over Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s role in Pakatan Harapan are holding up the opposition coalition’s formal registration, the former prime minister told Channel NewsAsia in an interview today.

“Unfortunately in the informal meetings (between) the leaders of the party, the question of calling the head person ‘chairman’ or some other name cropped up.

“Some people are against the word ‘chairman’ being given if I hold that position. If somebody else holds (the position) it’s alright, but not me,” he said.

“There was some ridiculous suggestion it should be called executive advisor,” Dr Mahathir added. “It is a contradiction in terms. You can’t be an executive and an advisor. But these are the things which have held up our meetings.”

Bersatu, of which Dr Mahathir is chairman, has teamed up with PKR, DAP and PAS offshoot Amanah in a bid to defeat Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Barisan Nasional in GE14.

PH is looking to register with the Registrar of Societies to contest GE14 as a formal alliance but details such as the leadership structure need to be sorted out first.

Dr Mahathir told Channel NewsAsia that given his Malay-based Bersatu party would be in the best position to win over Umno and PAS voters, it was initially proposed that he be appointed chairman of the coalition while party president and former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin be PH president. However, the suggestion was rejected by the alliance.

Another proposal was for Dr Mahathir to be chairman, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail the president while her husband, Anwar Ibrahim, the coalition’s advisor.

“(I think some of them) worry, they distrust,” said Dr Mahathir. “They feel I’m still in the show, hijacking the party – this kind of thinking.”

He added: “They find it difficult even to decide on the name for me. I’m not asking to lead or anything like that, but it is they who requested.

“I offered to back down. I said I will have no role at all except that (when) you ask me to give talks.” – June 20, 2017.