KUALA LUMPUR – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has warned Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that he may face a similar fate like that of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin if he accepts support from Umno in forming a new government.
The former prime minister believes that if Anwar does not fulfil the desires of Umno lawmakers, they could withdraw their support for the Port Dickson MP, similar to what may potentially be happening to Muhyiddin.
Mahathir's warning to Anwar is in light of the latter's announcement yesterday that he now commands a "strong, formidable and convincing" majority in Parliament that could effectively cause the collapse of the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition led by Muhyiddin.
It is also understood that Anwar may have gotten his potential majority from Umno MPs after its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday acknowledged that some representatives from his party have pledged support to the PKR President.
“Although Anwar says he will not receive support from the six Umno MPs who are facing charges in court, surely those who pledge support to him would have more loyalty towards Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Zahid Hamidi,” said Mahathir.
“If their needs are not met, surely they will do the same to Anwar what they did to (Tan Sri) Muhyiddin.”
Mahathir also explained that he had warned Muhyiddin of the risk of losing support. “I made a stand to reject working together with Umno en-bloc because it meant I had to accept Umno members who face charges in court.”
“But Muhyiddin said he is willing to work with Umno en-bloc even though he could be threatened by Umno when their needs are not met,” Mahathir said in a press statement today.
The veteran statesman also said that the focus of Zahid's statement isn't the fact that Anwar may have the majority support of Parliament, but Muhyiddin has lost his majority.
“The important thing now is whether the Prime Minister has the majority to maintain his position. Whether or not Anwar has a majority is secondary,” Mahathir added. — The Vibes, September 24, 2020
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