PH names Anwar as opposition leader

THE Pakatan Harapan (PH) Presidential Council has proposed PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Opposition Leader in the Dewan Rakyat and has informed Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff M Yusoff of the decision.

The Council came to the decision at its meetings on March 21 and April 26, PH secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said in a statement.

The statement explained that while it is customary for the leader of the party with the most seats in the House among the opposition parties to be nominated as Opposition Leader, also taken into account are the views of all opposition MPs.

The DAP, which has the most MPs, informed the Council that it is not seeking the position, the statement added.

In view of this, the Presidential Council has named Anwar, the Port Dickson MP, as Opposition Leader.

The decision, according to the statement, has also been conveyed to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the Langkawi MP who was prime minister of the PH government until he quit the position, and Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, the Semporna MP and Sabah Chief Minister whose Warisan party was allied to PH and still supports Mahathir.

The letter to the Speaker was hand-delivered to the Speaker’s office on May 4. A similar letter was also hand-delivered to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (parliament and law), Datuk Takiyuddin bin Haji Hassan, on May 7, the statement added. – May 7, 2020

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