Anwar says he is not seeking cabinet post

After a flurry of comments from various politicians, including that of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on a possible cabinet reshuffle, Anwar Ibrahim stated his position on the matter.

He made it clear he will not accept any post in the event a reshuffle is done at any time.

He also said he is not offering himself to join the cabinet.

On Saturday, the Pakatan Harapan agreed to a cabinet reshuffle following their massive defeat in the Johor by-election 11 days ago.

“I’ve said it before. I didn’t apply. To me, the understanding is clear. And I will wait.”
He meant to say he did not apply to join the cabinet, and he wants to respect the deal that Dr Mahathir will quit and he becomes the 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia.

He also said, “I have no intention,” when asked by reporters if he wants to join in Dr Mahathir’s cabinet as a minister.

Pakatan has agreed that Anwar will take over from Dr Mahathir but there is no specified period.

Dr Mahathir previously said he will handover the position in two years but later changed this statement to become three years.

There are various opinions out there on why Anwar should, or should not take a cabinet position.

Some observers said it is important for Anwar to take a post in the cabinet, even suggesting he replaces Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who is currently holding this position. Wan Azizah is Anwar’s wife.

One school of thought says it is not enough for Anwar to be the prime-minister-in-waiting because it is a weak position. They say being out of a cabinet post makes Anwar look weak.

However, people close to the PKR and to Anwar said it is okay for Anwar to wait in the wings especially with the amount of backlash the Mahathir cabinet is being subjected to at the moment.

They argue Anwar will instead be weakened if he was in the cabinet with a situation that shows no improvement for Pakatan when it comes to reforms and other changes promised by the coalition when it was in the opposition.

Anwar being in the cabinet would have stopped the massive drubbing handed to Dr Mahathir in the ‘referendum’ that was the Tanjung Piai by-election in Johor. -/TISG