PETALING JAYA: The scramble among political parties to name their prime ministerial candidates is pointless if they cannot secure a simple majority in Parliament, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The former prime minister urged instead for greater unity among the Malays.
“Only when the Malays are united can victory be achieved. Once victory is secured, then the choice of prime minister can be made. Anyone with talent can contest for the position,” in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Sept 17).
The two-time former prime minister was commenting on the recent tussle between PAS and Bersatu, both of which have been pushing their own candidates for the top post.
“I don’t quite understand why so many are scrambling to be named as prime ministerial candidates. A candidate cannot become prime minister unless his party wins at least 112 seats,” he said.
To secure 112 seats, a party must contest more than that number, which is unlikely to happen, he added.
“It is therefore not possible for a prime ministerial candidate to become prime minister,” he said.
