Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad reiterated he will hand over power to Anwar Ibrahim amid reports of tension in Pakatan Harapan over a series of sex video that went viral in Malaysia last week.
To calm the spirits, Dr Mahathir says he will keep his promises to Anwar the leader of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
The PKR which is hit by a gay sex video scandal involving a PKR deputy leader who is also Economic Affairs Minister in Dr Mahathir’s cabinet, Azmin Ali.
Dr Mahathir also vows not to leave Malaysia in shambles when he eventually steps down as prime minister while telling an audience at the ‘The Future of Malaysia and Asean’ event, the 5th Bloomberg Asean Business Summit in Bangkok today he is working hard to resolve Malaysia’s problems.
Dr Mahathir says he will not leave the country in shambles and go away like the previous one (Prime Minister).
He did not mention ex-PM Najib Razak but Dr Mahathir has often accused the latter of putting Malaysia into a deep economic turmoil with the 1MDB scandal and the seismic kleptocratic regime he headed.
“So I am working hard for the country to the best of my ability, and hopefully we’ll be able to make corrections and solve most of the problems we’ve inherited (from the previous government),” Bernama, the local official news agency, quoted as saying.
To a question, Dr Mahathir said he would stick to his promise to pass the baton to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.
Asked whether Anwar was ready for the job, Dr Mahathir says: “It’s not a question of whether he is ready or not. I made a promise and I’ll keep to my promise.”
Last week, Anwar met with Dr Mahathir in Putrajaya and agreed with the elderly statesman there should be no cabinet reshuffle. Anwar also says he supports Dr Mahathir’s view that Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also Anwar’s wife, does not have to resign to make way for Anwar.
With this statement from Anwar it appears there will be no cabinet reshuffle before the Prime Minister leaves office.