[UPDATED] Go ask Anwar, not me: Mahathir on cooperating with PKR chief again

KUALA LUMPUR – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad appears to have left the door open for talks on yet another cooperation with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, if his latest statement is to serve as any indication.

The former prime minister and current Pejuang chairman said the ball is now in the opposition leader’s court to decide whether the possibility of reconciliation is on the table.

Anwar is the chairman of Pakatan Harapan which Mahathir had left when his then party Bersatu quit the coalition in February 2020.

“The question should be given to him. Ask him, will he work with me? The problem is he doesn’t want to. I’m a very nice man,” he said, responding briefly to a question from the media on whether he would consider working with the PKR president for the upcoming general election.

He said this during a press conference after chairing a Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) meeting in Putrajaya today to discuss preparations ahead of national polls, following the dissolution of Parliament yesterday.

Mahathir has shared a rather tempestuous relationship with Anwar over the past decades, with the former being responsible for the latter’s sacking as deputy prime minister and Umno member in the 1990s, resulting in the birth of the “reformasi” movement and the formation of PKR.

The two leaders appeared to have put their past behind them when they agreed to cooperate during the 2018 election in what was a collective effort to oust an Umno government then led by Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was mired by allegations of corruption.

Despite PH later coming into federal power, a falling out over a succession plan involving Anwar replacing Mahathir as prime minister eventually saw the collapse of the then government.

In 2020, Bersatu, which Mahathir had led as party chairman, decided to pull out of the PH coalition and form a new government with Umno.

However, Mahathir today said he is still open to possibly working together with his former party Bersatu, if this meant Umno can be toppled again.

“We will consider it. We have not had any discussion yet, but we are not dismissing the possibility,” he said, adding that GTA will cooperate with any political outfit that shares a similar goal of bringing down Umno.

Asked if this means he is willing to even work with “traitors”, Mahathir said: “We have to think, who is the bigger traitor.”

Commenting further, Mahathir said there is a pressing need to bring back political stability to the country following years of turbulence that saw multiple changes of government.

In this regard, he said it is vital that the people vote for GTA, which he said promises stability. – The Vibes, October 11, 2022