All 92 Pakatan Harapan lawmakers back PKR chief Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia’s prime minister: Sources

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26, 2020, The Straits Times. Pakatan Harapan (PH) lawmakers have backed Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia’s prime minister, even as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong continues the search to determine who commands the numbers to form Malaysia’s new government, The Straits Times reported.

The Straits Times has learnt that all 92 MPs from the three-party coalition voted for Datuk Seri Anwar when interviewed by Malaysia’s King on Wednesday (Feb 26), following through on the transition plan agreed prior to their shock May 2018 electoral victory – for Tun Mahathir Mohamad to resign and Mr Anwar to takeover mid-term.

Dr Mahathir had resigned as premier on Monday following the apparent collapse of the PH government after members of his own Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) and some PKR rebels allied themselves with the opposition. However, he was reappointed interim prime minister by the Agong, Malaysia’s King, until the political impasse can be resolved.

“PH doesn’t want to govern with Umno or Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) leaders whether as a coalition of parties, or a collection of individuals,” an official source had said.

The move could mean that no candidate commands a majority, as it is learnt some Umno and PAS legislators indicated they did not support Dr Mahathir as per their official party stance, and wanted a snap poll.

Malaysia’s King was set to complete interviews of all 222 parliamentarians by Wednesday evening (Feb 26), with 132 MPs slated to inform him whether they back interim Premier Mahathir Mohamad to continue leading the country, or if they preferred a snap election less than two years since the May 2018 polls.

Despite the rest of the now collapsed Pakatan Harapan (PH) government affirming on Monday that they wanted Tun Mahathir to return as prime minister, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution told reporters after leaving the palace that the party is voting someone from the party to be PM, while Wangsa Maju MP Tan Yee Kew said they were supporting Datuk Seri Anwar as Malaysia’s eighth prime minister.

Dr Mahathir became Malaysia’s seventh prime minister after leading PH to victory in 2018 and ending six decades of Umno rule.

“Tun (Dr Mahathir) resigned. Made the interim prime minister. Give a chance to DSAI (Mr Anwar) to prove whether he has support to become the eighth PM. It is a position that cannot simply be inherited or handed down. You must have the support of the majority of MPs. We hope PPBM fulfils its promise. Tun the seventh PM, DSAI the eighth PM,” Parti Amanah Negara communications director Khalid Samad posted on Twitter earlier on Wednesday.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) MPs were the first to arrive from 10am and later issued a statement that all its MPs (25, not including Tun Dr Mahathir) want the interim prime minister to be given the job permanently.

The Straits Times understands that those still in the coalition agreed in a meeting on Tuesday night to collectively support the return of Dr Mahathir, who resigned from the position on Monday, and reject the need for polls less than two years after they ended six decades of Umno rule.

The unprecedented move for the King to interview MPs individually instead of meeting party leaders appears to be in line with Dr Mahathir’s plan to form a grand coalition across the political spectrum instead of trying to band together parties with diverse ideologies.

But already, the Umno-led Barisan Nasional pact and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) said in a joint press conference after their audience on Tuesday that they would not enter a government if it included the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a Chinese-dominated outfit they accuse of undermining Malay Muslim interests, and would prefer to head to the ballot in such a situation.

Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa also said they rejected the move to form a government via a majority of individuals, instead of parties, as this ran contrary to Malaysia’s principles of parliamentary democracy.

Dr Mahathir’s leadership of the PH government since May 2018 has been hemmed in by ethnocentric criticism, especially from Malaysia’s two largest Malay Muslim parties Umno and PAS.

DAP sources also told ST that the party would lose its legitimacy if it worked with “corrupt and extremist” leaders from Umno and PAS. It is understood that other PH partners, PKR and Parti Amanah Negara, are of the same view.

Meanwhile, PKR would likely baulk at the prospect of reconciling with sacked deputy president Azmin Ali, who exited with 10 MPs following his expulsion for allegedly betraying PH by trying to undo the agreed transition of power from Dr Mahathir to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Datuk Seri Azmin was a key figure in the so-called National Alliance, which on Sunday brought together pro-Mahathir leaders in PH and opposition parties to call for the 94-year-old to stay in power for the full term instead of handing the reins to Mr Anwar, who is president of PKR.

But Dr Mahathir did not accept the mandate, with sources saying he refused to accept Umno into his government, and resigned not just as premier, but also as chairman of his own Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, whose president Muhyiddin Yassin was also a key proponent of the National Alliance.

Dr Mahathir instead mooted plans for a unity government in meetings with party chiefs and Mr Azmin on Tuesday morning, and is scheduled to present the same to Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal, who heads the eastern state’s Warisan party, later on Wednesday.