Muhyiddin: PKR desperate to offer Dr Mahathir chairmanship

BAU (Sarawak): The attempt by some PKR members to lure Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to take up their 'offer' as chairman shows that the party is desperate, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said Dr Mahathir is a hard core member of Umno, the party he led for so long, and will not accept the 'offer' from PKR.

"I am confident of this, athough he is critical of certain issues on politics and those affecting the government," he told a media conference after attending a meet-the-people session at Dewan Suarah Bau.

"They (PKR) are desperate and have nobody else to turn to for help. So, they decided to go for him. Let us leave this matter to Tun (Mahathir)," he added.

Several blogs reported that a group of PKR members urged the party's leadership to appoint Dr Mahathir as chairman to replace Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was jailed for sodomy.

The members gathered in front of PKR headquarters in Tropicana Damansara, Petaling Jaya with banners calling on the leadership to appoint Dr Mahathir as the chairman.

Asked about Barisan Nasional's preparation for the Permatang Pauh by-election, Muhyiddin said it was too early to talk as the Election Commission (EC) had not made an official announcement on the matter.

On Feb 10, the Federal Court found Anwar, who is also Permatang Pauh Member of Parliament, guilty of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, and upheld the five years' jail sentence imposed by the Appeals Court. - Bernama