PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Anwar Ibrahim has turned down Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s offer of cooperation ahead of the 15th general election (GE15).
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Anwar said he had to refuse Mahathir’s offer as he feels the former prime minister’s stance on matters is inconsistent.
“It’s all right. We will continue to monitor (what Mahathir says). Next week, he will have a different (stance),” he told reporters after last night’s PH presidential council meeting.
On Tuesday, the 97-year-old Mahathir announced that he will be defending his Langkawi parliamentary seat in GE15, after stating in March that he would not stand for re-election.
Asked about the possibility of working with Anwar after GE15, Mahathir said the question should be directed to the PH chairman himself.
“The problem is he (Anwar) doesn’t want to work with me (but) I’m a very nice man,” he said.
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Anwar and Mahathir were former partners in PH but squabbled over succession plans when Mahathir led the country as prime minister during the PH government from 2018 to 2020.
Analysts have said that Mahathir’s refusal to hand over power to Anwar, as agreed upon, had essentially split PH and caused the collapse of the PH government in February 2020.
In what is now called the Sheraton Move, Barisan Nasional, Bersatu, PAS, and a faction led by PKR’s then deputy president Azmin Ali joined forces to form the Perikatan Nasional government.
Anwar, who was Mahathir’s deputy during his first stint as prime minister from 1981 to 2003, was sacked in 1998 before being charged and imprisoned for sodomy and corruption.–FMT