KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 ― MCA has accused Pakatan Harapan of choosing Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (PPBM) president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as its new prime minister candidate, after the latter party was officially accepted into the opposition pact.

According to an MCA leader, the choice was made obvious after one of its previous candidates, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was merely elected as the pact’s interim committee’s adviser, together with PPBM chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"DAP’s contention that the Opposition Prime Minister’s candidate must be Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim which they had so long adhered to has vacillated,” MCA publicity bureau chairman Datuk Chai Kim Sen said in a statement.

"Along with Pakatan’s announcement that Wan Azizah and Tun Dr Mahathir will be appointed as the committee’s adviser, PPBM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will supplant Anwar and become Pakatan Harapan’s candidate to be Prime Minister.”

The Barisan Nasional party said DAP has lost its decision making position in the pact, despite holding 36 parliamentary and 96 state seats.

DAP’s parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang had previously suggested Dr Wan Azizah as the pact’s interim prime minister and Muhyiddin as the interim deputy.

A week ago, PPBM was officially accepted by Pakatan Harapan as its fourth component party, and the federal pact will now seek to register itself as an official coalition before the next general election.

Prior to PPBM’s entry, Pakatan Harapan had been steadfast that Anwar was still their prime minister designate despite his prison sentence, and even after Dr Mahathir suggested Muhyiddin as a choice.