In an interview with the local media, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that there is no doubt that PKR president Anwar Ibrahim will succeed him after two years in office.
“I have kept to this promise I will step down and give way to Anwar, that’s something ‘quite’ definite. There is no talk about who will be my successor or what is going to be done,” says Dr Mahathir.
It is understood that Dr Mahathir means it is a definite plan, a plan some denied after the general elections last year.
“He (Anwar) is not required to follow my instructions or follow what I have done. He is free to do what he thinks is best as prime minister […],” Mahathir says.
He also says he intends to give Anwar a free rein, and that Anwar does not have to follow his instructions, nor follow what he has done.
“He is free to do what he thinks is best as the prime minister. I have no say on what happens after. My job is to prepare the country as much as possible,” he said in a special interview to celebrate the first anniversary of the Pakatan administration on Wednesday.
With his intention to give Anwar a free rein, Dr Mahathir pointed out he will then have no further say in the country’s administration.
Pakatan Harapan won the 14th general elections after narrowly defeating Barisan Nasional on May 9 last year. After the victory, Dr Mahathir was hailed as the greatest political master in the country for turning the tide against the Pakatan opposition.
Immediately after, some obscure quarters formed a movement to campaign against Anwar as future Prime Minister while some Pakatan members publicly wished Dr Mahathir remained PM for the next five years.
Dr Mahathir’s statement yesterday should put to rest the theories and rumours of a challenge to Anwar’s rise as Malaysia’s next Prime Minister.
During the interview, Dr Mahathir says: “My job is to prepare the country as much as possible so my successor can take over,” he added.-/TISG