Adib Povera
KUALA LUMPUR: Statements that described the event that allegedly took place during the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Presidential Council meeting last night did not come from the Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) president.
Mohd Azhar Mat Dali, who is political secretary to Mohamad Sabu described such reports published on certain media outlets and shared on social media as speculative in nature.
He said, Mohamad Sabu or more commonly known as Mat Sabu, had always upheld the principle of secrecy and would never resort to sharing details of last night’s deliberation with members of the public or the media.
“Again, it is stressed that Mohamad Sabu is not involved with the stories and speculations circulated on the event that took place during the PH Presidential Council meeting last night,” he said in a statement today.
Although Azhar did not specifically identify any news reports, it was understood that he was referring to a report published by a news portal suggesting that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was pressured to set a specific date for him to honour the PH succession plan.
The report also stated that Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) had allegedly threatened Amanah and DAP leaders that it would revolt and quit the ruling coalition if they continue to pressure Dr Mahathir to step down.
Quoting sources close to PH leaders who had attended the meeting in Putrajaya last night, the report suggested that Mohamad was unfazed by the threat from Bersatu.
“Mohamad responded (to Bersatu leaders who had allegedly threatened to quit PH) that we (Amanah) do not have any problem with that. For several years we have become the opposition... we were welcomed and supported by DAP,” the report had said.
In a press conference after the meeting last night, Dr Mahathir said that no date has been fixed for the succession plan as the decision would only be made by him after the 2020 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November.
“We have discussed this at length. I do not have to repeat what we decided on. There were two opinions and in the end, it was all left up to me. What I say they will follow.
"The transition will take place after APEC... there is no timeframe, no date, nothing.
“It is up to me whether to let go (of power) or not. That was the trust given to me by the party,” Dr Mahathir said.