PKR veep bucks trend, says party with most seats to decide on PM

(MMO) – While most of his PKR colleagues back Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the Opposition’s prime minister candidate, one top party leader feels otherwise.

Instead, PKR vice-president Shaharuddin Badaruddin suggested that the party with the most seats in the Opposition bloc should decide who should be prime minister if they win the next general elections.

“Discussions on who should be the prime minister should only take place after we win.

“We will see which party wins the most seats because then that party would have the advantage in choosing the prime minister,” he was quoted saying by the News Straits Times today.

PKR currently holds 28 seats in the Opposition bloc. The party with the highest number of seats is DAP with 37 from the total 89 Opposition seats in Parliament.

Shaharuddin added that instead of focusing on the PM candidate, PKR should put that effort in to mobilising their machinery for the next general elections.

“The focus should be on winning the general elections, rather than quarrelling on who should we name [as PM],” he was quoted adding.

At the PKR convention last week, the party unanimously backed incarcerated Anwar as its prime ministerial candidate, with his spouse and Opposition leader Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail being the interim place holder if they win the 14th general elections that must be called by June next year.

Dr Wan Azizah would then work out a pardon for Anwar and then hold a by election in the following months to pave his way to become PM.