PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has reiterated that he will keep his promise to step down as premier before completing a full term in office.
As to when he plans to step down, Dr Mahathir said that he will do so when the country is back on an even keel.
“It may be two years, it may be three years, I don’t know.
“Unless they push me to a corner, put a gun to my head, and say ‘You continue and finish your term!’, I will step down.
“I will keep my promise,” he told reporters after a roundtable meeting with the International Chambers of Commerce here, today.
However, Dr Mahathir also confirmed that he had met with several members of the opposition who had expressed support for him to complete a full term as Prime Minister.
He added that even Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang has constantly urged him to continue being Prime Minister.
“The meeting (did take place). I meet everyone, not just the opposition, but non-governmental organisations too.
“(If) they want to come see me, I (will) see them and hear what they want to say. They expressed (their) support for me, (so) thank you very much,” he added.
An English daily had reported that a group of opposition members, allegedly from the Umno-Pas alliance and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), met with Dr Mahathir on Tuesday night.
Quoting a source, the report said that the meeting was to pledge the opposition’s full support for Dr Mahathir to serve out his full term.
On Monday, Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali welcomed the call by the Pas-Umno bloc.
Azmin added that Malaysians voted in the previous general election for institutional reform, and this would only be possible if there is stability in government.
The PKR deputy president also expressed his belief that Pas and Umno’s professed support for Dr Mahathir’s leadership would usher in a new era of bipartisanship; and build on the collaboration that allowed Malaysia to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 recently.
PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is expected to take over from Dr Mahathir as Prime Minister based on PH's succession plan.
It was initially reported that the succession would take place within two years of the general election, but it was later revealed that there was no formal agreement on exactly when it would take place.