Pakatan meeting with PM was for ministers, says Anwar of his absence

PORT DICKSON: PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has clarified that he was not present at a Pakatan Harapan meeting with the Prime Minister on Wednesday (Aug 21) as it was not an official meeting.

Anwar said the Prime Minister only met heads of Pakatan member parties who were in the Cabinet during the meeting.

Since he was not a minister, there was no necessity for him to attend, he said.

"Dr Wan Azizah (Deputy Prime Minister) was asked by Tun to attend as she sits in the Cabinet.

"Tun called heads of Pakatan parties in Cabinet...it's normal to meet one or two persons and its not a problem.

"But it was not an official Pakatan meeting," he said when met after launching a Kembara Jalur Gemilang event at Dataran Kemang here on Friday (Aug 23).

Talk is rife that Dr Mahathir met the leaders to discuss the possibility of changing the portfolios of some of his Cabinet ministers.

Asked how he rated PKR ministers and deputy ministers, Anwar said they were trying their best to perform.

"But as George Bernard Shaw says: There is always room for improvement," he said.

Asked on a statement by Dr Mahathir of a possible portfolio swap among ministers, Anwar said this was the Prime Minister's prerogative.

"The concern expressed by the PM is that they (ministers) should be given a jolt so they can enhance their capabilities and (carry out) reforms on economic issues and those affecting their ministries," he said.

Asked if he would make any recommendations to the Prime Minister with regard to PKR ministers, Anwar said he would not.

"I always maintain that this is the prerogative of the PM although he does recognise the issue of adequate and fair representation of parties in the Cabinet," he said.

Asked on his recent visits to other states, Anwar said he was merely meeting party members after the party election to ensure they remained focused to PKR's struggles.