Azmin camp roots for Mahathir to be 8th Prime Minister
Published on: Thursday, February 27, 2020
PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) Presidential Council has unanimously named PKR President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic) as its Prime Minister candidate, following the resignation of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Monday.
Anwar said the Council had, on Tuesday (yesterday), invited Dr Mahathir to chair its meeting to restore PH government, however, the former Prime Minister declined to attend the meeting.
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“Therefore, the PH Presidential Council, in its meeting yesterday (Tuesday), has decided to nominate me as PH Prime Minister candidate,” he said in a news conference here Wednesday.
Besides stepping down as the 7th Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir also announced his resignation as Bersatu Chairman on the same day.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had, later in the day, consented to the appointment of Dr Mahathir as interim Prime Minister.
His Majesty also consented to grant personal audiences to all 222 Members of Parliament to resolve the country’s political turmoil triggered by the resignation of Dr Mahathir.
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Meanwhile, 11 former PKR Members of Parliament have unanimously pledged their support for Dr Mahathir to be appointed as the eighth Prime Minister.
They are Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and Zuraida Kamaruddin who were both sacked from PKR on Monday, and nine others who announced their departure from the party soon after the sacking.
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The 11 were alleged to have made an attempt at forming a backdoor government, leading to the collapse of PH.
Mohamed Azmin, in a joint statement Wednesday, said they pledged support for Dr Mahathir to lead the country until the end of the term for the sake of national reconciliation.
“As the country faces pressure from various uncertainties of world and domestic economy as well as the Covid-19 outbreak, the country needs to set aside political differences and concentrate on full unification and national unity.”
He called upon all to set aside narrow politics and prioritise on what is important for the nation and its people.
Mohamed Azmin also thanked all Malaysians for being patient and calm through the political storm and the ongoing developments that took the nation by surprise.
“We are impressed by the maturity, fair and equitable attitude of Malaysians who have dealt with this crisis together in the hope of a better administration.
“As promised in the 14th general election, we will continue to serve the people to the best of our capacity, no matter what.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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“Efforts in restoring the economy, generating growth, creating jobs, putting in place policies for the prosperity of the nation to be shared regardless of race and region will remain the objective.
“We feel the pulse of your life. We will fulfill your aspirations, “he said in a statement after the 11 MPs had an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara Wednesday.