No great PM choices now, says Dr M’s media adviser

The prime minister’s media adviser A Kadir Jasin today defended his boss following criticism that he has been delaying the handover of power to Anwar Ibrahim, saying there is limited choices to replace Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

(FMT) – “As it stands today, unless we do something, the choices we have (for prime minister) are not great,” he told reporters at the National Expert Consultation for freedom of expression and hate speech here.

This comes after a series of criticism against Mahathir over the exact date of handing over power to Anwar, as agreed by Pakatan Harapan before the general election last year.

But Kadir said the criticism was a sign of greater openness under the PH administration.

“This is the difference between the current and former governments, where we allow and respect freedom of expression,” he said.

On Sunday, PKR politician Syed Husin Ali accused Mahathir of dragging his feet over the date of Anwar’s appointment to the top post.

Kadir said Mahathir has repeatedly said he would keep his promise.

“This is between Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim,” he added.

Last week, Mahathir told a forum organised by the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York that he would need “at the most three years” before he could hand over to a suitable candidate.

Anwar, meanwhile, had said he expects to replace Mahathir as prime minister next year.