PH says it will back Anwar as PM candidate
This was decided at a presidential council meeting today.
PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan will support PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as its prime minister candidate, its presidential council announced today.
In a joint statement, Anwar, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said PH was committed to its original stand to name Anwar as its prime minister, in the event it wins back power.
They added that the council also discussed the proposal for Warisan president Shafie Apdal to be nominated for the top post.
“We believe that all efforts towards returning the people’s mandate need to be carried out and require the support of all parties.
“Hence, the presidential council gives Anwar the full mandate to continue discussions with all parties, including Shafie,” they said.
Previously, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had proposed Anwar and former PPBM deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir to be appointed deputy prime ministers if Shafie became the prime minister.
Mahathir said the nominations had been agreed upon at an informal meeting on June 25 attended by him, Shafie, Mukhriz, Mohamad Sabu, Lim and others from the DAP.
Anwar and PKR were not named among those present.
Last month, DAP and Amanah told PKR to return to PH’s consensus to back Mahathir as the ninth prime minister, as Anwar was not expected to achieve majority support in parliament.
Their statement did not sit well with some quarters in PKR, with one leader from Selangor urging the party to ditch DAP and Amanah.
Today, the three leaders also said that in the event of a snap election, the PH-led state governments should be maintained and not dissolved.
They maintained that they were aligned with the federal and state governments’ focus to help the people overcome the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The party leaders also said they opposed the motion by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to remove the Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof and his deputy Nga Kor Ming.
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