PETALING JAYA: Tun Daim Zainuddin believes it would be foolish for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to be made prime minister immediately upon returning to parliament.
The head of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s council of elders told The Straits Times the transition should be mid-term or else public trust would be lost.
“If you break your promise to the people, they are not going to trust you anymore,” he told the Singapore daily.
Daim who reportedly met with Anwar also claimed that he had told the latter that, “You all tried how many elections and failed. Whether you like it or not, (Dr) Mahathir succeeded.”
Anwar, 70, is scheduled to be released from Sungai Buloh prison on June 8, with good behaviour taken into account.
The Federal Court ordered him to serve a five-year jail sentence in 2015 for sodomy charges that his supporters have maintain were politically motivated.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V recently agreed to grant the PKR de-facto leader a full pardon which will be finalised tomorrow.
Dr Mahathir had also previously stated that he would remain prime minister for two years before stepping down for Anwar to take over.
Anwar’s wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, meanwhile, will be the deputy prime minister.
On Sunday, Anwar said PKR was firmly behind Mahathir’s leadership while dissatisfaction heightened over the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman’s appointment of three Cabinet positions. This is because none of the posts went to PKR.
He also told the PKR leadership to ensure the strength of the PH federal government under Mahathir and Wan Azizah was maintained.