Dr M threatens to cut ties

Bowing out: Dr Mahathir said he would decline an advisory role in government. — Reuters

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called it “quits” with Pakatan Plus since PKR rejected the Mahathir-Anwar combo for prime minister.

He also ruled out any contact with PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for more talks on future cooperation.

He, however, will continue to work with DAP and Amanah.

“No, I think I will quit,” said the 94-year-old former premier and ousted Parti Pribumi Bersatu chairman, when asked if he would cooperate with Anwar during a video interview with Sin Chew Daily.

“I will not cooperate with him (Anwar) because he does not want to work with me. I need to find other ways to become prime minister. There might be other ways,” he said yesterday.

Pakatan Plus refers to a combination of Pakatan parties — PKR, DAP and Amanah, plus Warisan and former Bersatu MPs aligned to Dr Mahathir.

When asked if he would continue working with DAP and Amanah, Dr Mahathir said yes, as they support him as prime minister.

“They have been the opposition parties for so long. Before I joined them, in 2008 and 2013, they tried to win but they lost. They couldn’t win.

“In the 14th general election, I joined them and with enough Malay support, we won.

“They were very clear they needed Malay votes to win. So they thought I could bring in the Malay votes because Bersatu is a Malay party while others are multiracial.

“The Malays will not support multiracial parties,” he added.

Dr Mahathir also turned down Anwar’s offer of an advisory position in the government because from his experience, no one would listen.

Citing the examples of several former prime ministers, he said their successors do not take on the advice given by the predecessors.

“My experience is that when I tried to give advice to a prime minister, they rejected me.

“Just like former prime ministers (Tun) Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and now Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin,” said Dr Mahathir, who is the MP for Langkawi.

During a recent interview with Singapore’s Channel News Asia, Anwar said he was willing to consider a senior minister or minister mentor role for Dr Mahathir instead of accepting a proposal for Dr Mahathir to be the prime minister for six months before handing over power to him.

“No, I won’t accept the position,” said Dr Mahathir, adding that a prime minister would want to leave his own legacy and not be remembered for the advice he received from an adviser.

“The prime minister would want to show that he is in charge of everything and that all the ideas come from him.

“He would want to have his own legacy and not say that ‘Okay, my legacy came from Mahathir’. I think, just forget about it,” he added.

Parti Amanah Negara communications director Khalid Samad said Pakatan Plus needs to draw on the strength of both Dr Mahathir and Anwar to succeed in their mission to regain power.

He added that there is no question of taking sides or splitting up Pakatan.

“No, we will not be leaving Pakatan to join Dr Mahathir, but we will continue to play the role of mediator between PKR and Dr Mahathir’s faction,” he said when contacted.

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang expressed confidence that Anwar could be the prime minister if he agreed to a new agreement with Dr Mahathir.

He denied claims that DAP and Amanah had 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.