FORMER prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has reiterated that he should not be blamed for Pakatan Harapan (PH) chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s foiled PM dream, saying his sudden resignation from the country’s top post in February 2020 did not cause the PH Government to fall.
The Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) chairman was responding to what he claimed were “non-stop attacks” from Anwar, who is also PKR president, and PH supporters accusing Mahathir of not keeping to his promise to step down for Anwar, three years on.
The supposed brickbats also saw Mahathir come under fire for not discussing with PH or his Cabinet about his wanting to resign as PM – a decision which led to the subsequent formation of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) Government comprising former PH member Bersatu, Barisan Nasional (BN)/UMNO and PAS, the main aftermath of the Sheraton Move.
In a statement, Mahathir said when a PM of the UK, whose Westminster system Malaysia’s national legislature is based on, resigns, the ruling party decides on their replacement.
The nonagenarian claimed that former UK PM Liz Truss did not discuss with other leaders in her government or Conservative Party prior to her resignation last month amid a financial and political crisis after just 50 days in office.
“She resigned when she felt she no longer had the support (of her party). That was what I did as well,” the Pejuang chairman said.
“The difference is that the Conservative Party is still in the government (of the UK) even though Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Truss resigned (as PM). Now Rishi Sunak is the Conservative Party’s PM.”
Mahathir was always supposed to step down for Anwar, his former deputy who he jailed for alleged sodomy when he was PM during the early 1990s.
However, a plan was cooked up at Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya by Bersatu members close to Mahathir and PKR leaders up in arms over Anwar’s leadership to team up with the then-opposition parties to form a new government, thwart the transition of power to Anwar and allow Mahathir to continue ruling as PM.
At the eleventh hour, Mahathir backed out of the deal but his Bersatu party wanted to proceed. As a result, he resigned as PM on Feb 23, 2020, while Bersatu exited PH, leading to the federal PH and several PH-led state governments falling.
Although Anwar repeatedly claimed he had the backing of MPs who supported him to take over as PM, this did not materialise and Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was eventually named by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as PM on Feb 29, 2020.
Arguing that the PH Government could have named Anwar as his replacement if it didn’t fall, Mahathir pointed to “Mahiaddin” (Muhyiddin’s real name) and PN leaders Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali for “pulling out many of their members” from PH to the point that the coalition lost its majority and fell from power.
“So, blame Azmin, Hamzah and Mahiaddin and their followers who were involved in the Sheraton Move – that caused Anwar to not become PM,” the former Bersatu leader said. “Stop always blaming me.”
The incumbent Langkawi MP also trained his guns at Anwar, saying he too was “at fault for making” Azmin and a few PKR MPs collude with Muhyiddin, referring to unresolved infighting within PKR that led Azmin, who was then PKR deputy president, quitting the party along with 10 other MPs. – Nov 12, 2022
Main photo credit: AFP
