KUALA LUMPUR: Former Sabah chief minister Salleh Said Keruak said that appointing Tun Dr Mahathir as the adviser of Perikatan Nasional's (PN) "State Government 4" is a move to make the latter PN's de facto leader.
In a Facebook post, Salleh claimed that this was why PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin was not invited to the meeting with Pas leaders that Dr Mahathir had attended earlier this month.
"I must say that it's a brilliant move by Tun Mahathir if his real intention is to be in the political forefront again despite the setback in Langkawi during PRU 15," he said.
Tun Mahathir had suffered defeat in the last 15th general elections, losing his Langkawi seat to PN candidate, Suhaimi Abdullah.
Salleh further commented that he believes Muhyiddin's options are limited, which leaves him with nothing else "but to play along with whatever decision" made by the Pas-led coalition on the appointment of Dr Mahathir.
"Obviously the four states namely Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu are all Pas controlled states," he pointed out.
Last night, Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar announced that all four PN-led states would set up a new faction, calling themselves "State Government four", or "SG4".
He said that state government leaders from Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis had agreed in principle to form the cooperation. He had also ordered the Terengganu executive council to hold talks with their counterparts in the other three states.
Dr Mahathir, meanwhile, would be its unofficial adviser, focusing on effective and efficient governance.
The Pas vice-president said that Dr Mahathir's role is also to connect the four states with investors from countries like Japan and South Korea that have good ties with him.
Dr Mahathir had met with Pas leaders on Sept 2. The meeting included the menteris besar of the four states.