KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim does not have an issue with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad staying on as prime minister for a little longer than two years to address the slew of problems left behind by the previous Barisan Nasional administration.
Dr Mahathir reportedly told Sin Chew Daily that his former deputy prime minister had always given him his full support.
“He has always shown me his full support, and has never mentioned to me he wants to be PM early.
“I thought I will give myself two years plus a little bit more perhaps, but I think I promised I’ll keep my promise,” he added.
Dr Mahathir said there was no need to raise the issue of him completing a five-year-team to the Pakatan Harapan presidential council as a decision was made on the succession previously.
He also kept his cards close to his chest on Anwar’s suitability to succeed him.
“No, I don’t make an assessment of that. All I said is that at the time when we were forming Pakatan Harapan, we agreed that he should be my successor.
“I never said he is good or bad. The position they want me to promise is that I don’t stay on as prime minister for a long time.”
He was responding to a question on whether Anwar was the best candidate for prime minister.
Dr Mahathir laughed when asked whether Anwar would be lucky enough to succeed him.
“No, he is still in the position to be PM when I step down so you can’t say that he will never be PM. If you ask me some of the others who wanted to be PM like Musa Hitam and Tengku Razaleigh...I don’t think any more,” he said while referring to his first deputy prime minister, Tun Musa Hitam, and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
Razaleigh who is Umno’s Gua Musang MP had lost his bid for Umno’s presidency against Dr Mahathir in the 1980s and Datuk Seri Dr Zahid Hamidi recently.
The 93-year-old mimicked the behaviour of a frail and elderly person when asked whether he would be considered aged after another two years.
“People said I have some experience, so they want me to use my experience to correct all the mistakes by the previous government. After that I can go.
“Two years more, I’ll be 95 you know, very old already” he said animatedly, while adding that he would still honour his promise if he was asked to step down after two years.
Meanwhile Anwar took to Facebook to say that he and Dr Mahathir had just met for more than an hour.
He said he had mentioned that Dr Mahathir should be given space to lead with Pakatan Harapan’s full support and longer than the agreed timeline.
“I reported the findings of my meeting with Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte and India’s Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi,” said Anwar.
He said he had found similarities in Dr Mahathir’s approach and his own approach to bilateral matters with Singapore and in their focus on economy especially with regards to poverty.