KUALA LUMPUR: In a rare sight in the Dewan Rakyat today, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim took time off his speech when debating on the 2020 Budget to answer questions from the opposition on the transition of prime minister.
The Port Dickson MP maintained that there have been no changes to the transition plan, which was agreed upon prior to the 14th General Election, for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to handover the premiership to him within two years.
“This issue is being raised because there are concerns that investments and the stock market are affected because of this uncertainty.
“This is why I’m using this space in Parliament today, in front of all you lawmakers, to state that this is not just a question of me and Langkawi (Mahathir). This issue of transition has been decided by Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“Until today, there are no changes (to the plan), be it among the PH leaders or the component parties,” he said in answering to questions from a number of leaders, here, today.
Speaking in detail, Anwar said the agreement for the transition was signed by all PH component party leaders that Mahathir would be the prime minister, with Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as his deputy, should PH gain federal power.
He explained that once the transition of prime minister takes place later, both Mahathir and Wan Azizah would step down from their respective posts, although no set dateline was mentioned in the agreement.
“But during the discussion, it was mentioned that the maximum period would be two years. Then again, this will ultimately be up to the PH leaders’ decision. It’s not just for me or Mahathir to decide.
“The only guarantee I can give today is that the issue of transition is done, and if there are any attempts otherwise to interfere, I hope we can ignore them,” he said.
Anwar added that should he take over the administration from Mahathir later, he hoped MPs from both sides of the political divide would support him in developing the country.
