Speaking candidly to a group of students, Anwar Ibrahim, the PKR president-elect admitted feeling that he should have been the one becoming Prime Minister on May 10.
But he was serving a jail term and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad took the oath to become the first reformist PM of Malaysia.
He watched Mahathir’s swearing-in from a hospital ward after undergoing surgery for an injury.
“I should have been there. Me, yes. Not him,” he is quoted as saying.
But before that, he said he rejoiced upon seeing Dr Mahathir taking Oath. After taking Oath, the new PM promised to do everything to free Anwar from jail.
“Of course, I rejoiced. Everybody was so elated. Look, Mahathir was being sworn in, signalling a new era for Malaysia.
“He came up with a statement saying that once Pakatan Harapan wins, they will then submit an application to the king for an immediate pardon (for me).
“But I also felt that I should have been there, you know? I did, I did,” he said, waving his finger.
Anwar spoke candidly during a two-hour dialogue session with hundreds of students at the Singapore Management University (SMU) as part of the Ho Rih Hwa lecture series today, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported.
His comments on Mahathir came when answering a question from a student on his thoughts when he saw his former mentor taking over as prime minister.
Anwar is fighting for his chance to be the 8th PM of Malaysia with a contested by-election in Port Dickson that may reshape the entire political landscape in Malaysia only 6 months after the shocking Pakatan Harapan victory in May.
Anti-Anwar netizens – but who profess pro-Pakatan Harapan arguments – are busy campaigning against the PKR leader on Facebook and Twitter.
They believe Anwar should have waited for a longer time before making his move to contest in a by-election.
Anwar, his family and supporters in the PKR and PH disagrees with the naysayers.