Anwar would be PM if Dr M had kept his word, says PKR sec-gen Saifuddin

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would have the majority support to be prime minister if Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had kept his promise, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (pic).

The PKR secretary-general also denied Dr Mahathir’s claim that the nonagenarian would still be prime minister if not for the "Anwar move" that followed the February 2020 Sheraton Move.

The "Anwar move" refers to the PKR president being granted an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to prove he had the numbers to form a new government.

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“It was not a (question of) Anwar (having) no support. The agreement before the 14th General Election (GE14) was that Dr Mahathir would be the seventh prime minister.

“Anwar, PKR, and Pakatan Harapan kept their promises. Pakatan won GE14 and Dr Mahathir became the seventh prime minister.

“I represented PKR alongside DAP and Amanah leaders... (we) know that Dr Mahathir agreed to be the interim prime minister.

“He did not agree to set a date to resign but agreed to two years so as not to be seen as a lame duck PM.

“It’s apparent that Dr Mahathir broke his promise,” Saifuddin was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini, commenting on a recent interview in which Dr Mahathir described Anwar as "tidak lurus" (not honest).

Speaking on the country’s 2020 political crisis that stemmed from the Sheraton Move, which saw Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and 11 PKR MPs leave Pakatan, Saifuddin claimed that Dr Mahathir resigned as prime minister without first discussing it with the coalition's leadership.

“He lost his position due to his own actions. If he admitted his mistakes, he would be more respected.

“PKR and Pakatan kept their promise to Dr Mahathir to make him seventh PM... (but he) did not keep to his promise to relinquish the post to Anwar," he added.

Prior to GE14, the Pakatan Harapan leadership agreed to name Dr Mahathir as prime ministerial candidate as Anwar was still serving his prison sentence at the time.

Dr Mahathir resigned as prime minister in February 2020 after the Pakatan government collapsed following the Sheraton Move led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.

Muhyiddin then went on to become the eighth prime minister as Anwar failed to get majority support from MPs previously aligned to Pakatan.