What does Dr M think of Anwar as the next PM?
“No, I don’t make an assessment of that. All I said is that at the time when we were forming Pakatan Harapan, we agreed that he should be my successor.
(MMO) – While Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has agreed that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should succeed him as the next prime minister, he has so far refrained from passing judgment on his former deputy’s suitability to lead the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government next.
The incumbent prime minister known for plain-speaking continued to refrain from giving his evaluation of the PKR president in the latest joint interview with Chinese language news outlets Sin Chew Daily and Pocketimes published today.
“No, I don’t make an assessment of that. All I said is that at the time when we were forming Pakatan Harapan, we agreed that he should be my successor.
“I never said he is good or bad, the position they want me to promise is that I don’t stay on as prime minister for a long time,” he said in English when asked if Anwar is so far the “best candidate” to be the next prime minister.
In the same interview featured in a YouTube video clip by Pocketimes, Dr Mahathir was asked if Anwar has the luck or destiny to be prime minister, but managed to sidestep the loaded question.
“No, he is still in the position to be the prime minister when I step down, so you can’t say now that he will never be.
“If you ask me, some of the others wanted to be prime minister, like Musa Hitam; no more. Even Tengku Razaleigh also I don’t think anymore.
“But Anwar is in the party, he is in PH, he is the leader of PKR and I have made a promise that I will give it up. I want just to help the party win the election, although I was not very sure about that,” Dr Mahathir added.