KUCHING: Will Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad pass the baton to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim or someone else? Only time will tell.
The New Sarawak Tribune spoke to Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Henry Harry Jinep and political analyst Datuk Peter Minos yesterday.
Minos said it was not easy to read Dr Mahathir’s mind or his political tactics while Henry felt that it would be better to hold a fresh general election rather than pass the mantle of leadership.
Minos described Dr Mahathir as cunning and smart, saying that the Prime Minister kept his secrets well and people could only guess.
He said Dr Mahathir would want a person he fully trusted and could rely upon in many things, including one who would not betray him later.
“Last time, he got in Tun Abdullah Badawi who to Dr Mahathir was a disappointment.
“Then he pushed up Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who treated him very shabbily until he was forced to hit back and remove him.
“Thus, Dr Mahathir must be very careful this time around. What one can see, he has not made up his mind and had repeatedly said that when the time came, he would hand over the Prime Minister post.
“But the timing is never fixed. The man (successor) also is not yet fixed. So we are still guessing,” said Minos.
He added that now it did seem that Dr Mahathir was close to Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, tolerating Azmin’s antics.
“Azmin openly wants Dr Mahathir to finish his term till 2023. I’m sure Dr Mahathir is happy with Azmin and his words of support but Dr Mahathir does meet Anwar now and then.
“What they chat on we do not know and cannot know,” added Minos.
And now, he said, Dr Mahathir was under some pressure to leave because of the recent Tanjung Piai debacle, but he (Dr Mahathir) was not moved, instead hinted at a Cabinet reshuffle.
“There are talks of a dark horse, his son Mukhriz but he is not quite ready yet, by way of experience and seniority.
“There is also talk of Dr Mahathir making friends with BN and roping in former Minister of Defence, Hishammuddin Hussein,” said Minos.
According to Minos, Dr Mahathir would most likely want to unite the Malays in the Peninsula before stepping down.
“So who will Dr Mahathir want as Prime Minister after him, my answer is we cannot tell, not definitively.
“It could be Anwar or Azmin or another. We have to wait for what happens after May next year when Anwar is likely to make his move, following an ‘agreement’ within Pakatan Harapan, made last May in 2018.
“Till then, we can just make intelligent guesses,” added Minos.
Meanwhile, Henry said a fresh general election would give a fresh mandate for any leader to lead Malaysia.
“For now, we are not sure and have no clear direction of who has the people’s support and is the choice to lead the country,” he said.
Henry said the choice should be given back to the rakyat to decide for the benefit of the country as whole.
He said looking at the current scenario, apparently the Pakatan Harapan federal government was not stable, adding that the Prime Minister’s party (Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia) was weak, and other components like PKR were having their own internal problems and DAP was no longer the Chinese’s choice.
