Amanah and DAP will continue to mediate in Dr M-Anwar issue

PETALING JAYA: Parti Amanah Negara and DAP will continue acting as a mediator to ensure the cooperation between Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim continues.

Amanah communications director Khalid Samad said Pakatan Plus needed the strength of both leaders to succeed in their mission to regain power.

"We must bring these two camps together and stop instigating," he said.

Khalid said this when asked to comment on Dr Mahathir's willingness to quit Pakatan Plus if PKR continued to reject other component parties' decision to name him as the prime minister candidate and Anwar as the deputy prime minister.

Khalid said if Dr Mahathir did not want to communicate with Anwar, both Amanah and DAP could be mediators.

"The problem is only between Anwar and Dr Mahathir. Anwar claims Dr Mahathir does not have the support of the majority, and Dr Mahathir questioned if he (Anwar) had the numbers.

"We can all go back to the drawing board and discuss further," he said.

DAP and Amanah had recently called on PKR to stick to Pakatan's "second" option to back Dr Mahathir as the ninth prime minister as Anwar would unlikely command the support of the majority in Parliament.

Anwar was reportedly given a week to show he had the support of Gabungan Parti Sarawak.

In a recent joint statement, Khalid and DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke had said choosing Dr Mahathir as the prime ministerial candidate was a second option that had already been discussed and agreed upon during a Pakatan presidential council meeting on May 30, chaired by Anwar.

Dr Mahathir said in a video interview with Sin Chew Daily on Tuesday (June 23) that he would neither contact PKR nor Anwar for any more talks on future cooperation.

Earlier, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said DAP and Amanah had never turned their back on Anwar.

He called upon Anwar to agree to a deal to let Dr Mahathir serve as prime minister for six months before taking over.

"This is the most probable choice to boost the chances of Anwar being appointed as the next premier," he said in a statement.