PUTRAJAYA – Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said he never believed PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has enough support to form a new federal government.
Speaking to The Vibes in an interview at Perdana Leadership Foundation, Dr Mahathir took a swipe at his former ally, saying Anwar is known for making statements that he will be the prime minister.
“Anwar is known for making such statements. Not for the first time, many times he said he’s going to be prime minister and he has the support.
“In the end, there was really no support. When he made that statement, I never believed he had the support.
“I tried to figure out who supports him but there is this possibility that people with problems will back him… if he promises to solve their problems,” Dr Mahathir told The Vibes.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong granted an audience to the PKR chief on Tuesday.
Later on the same day, Anwar said he had more than 120 MPs supporting him to form a new government, and Perikatan Nasional (PN) government led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had fallen.
However, Istana Negara released a statement after that, saying Anwar did not submit the list of names of MPs supporting him to the Agong.
When asked about why Anwar could not be prime minister, Dr Mahathir said there were PKR supporters “appealing” to not have Anwar as prime minister.
“It's very difficult to say. You know, I was involved in removing him before but subsequently during the period when I was in Pakatan Harapan, I met with him.
“When they suggested that he should succeed me, I did not say no, but when I became prime minister, so many people came and appealed to me.
“Of course, I cannot reveal their names. These were his strong supporters, very strong supporters. Before, they were cursing me but now they come and ask me ‘please, not Anwar’.
“You see, I don't want to be instrumental in doing that, so I don't want to say no, I don't want to say yes.”
He added Anwar did not want Dr Mahathir to be prime minister Bersatu pulled out from Pakatan Harapan.
“Also, I would like to add that Anwar doesn't want me. He made it very clear that he didn’t want me when we tried to work again with Pakatan Harapan (after the collapse of the administration).
“That meeting with Anwar present, I offered to be prime minister only for six months...but, no.
“When Anwar made his announcement about overthrowing (Prime Minister Tan Sri) Muhyiddin, he said the number (of MPs) does not include me and my group (Pejuang).
“So he doesn’t want me, why should I want him?” – The Vibes, October 15, 2020
