PETALING JAYA, Jan 8 — Two Barisan Nasional (BN) ministers called out today the hypocrisy of Pakatan Harapan (PH) in choosing Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as their prime minister candidate.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the decision by the federal Opposition coalition to designate Dr Mahathir as PM and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as deputy prime minister was akin to an Umno “recycle party” desperate to obtain power.

“Since the beginning PH has showed how hypocritical it is towards the former PM where they previously demanded the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate him but decided on him as their leader now.

“They would even disregard the accusations thrown against Dr Mahathir in the past,” she said in a statement.

Azalina said the move proved PH lacked influential figures to be appointed as head of state.

“They suggested to limit the PM seat to only two tenure but made a U-turn after naming Dr Mahathir for a possible sixth tenure,” she said.

She said the unprincipled attitude of the Opposition would cause the people to lose faith in them and told them not to point fingers at the Election Commission if they were defeated in the upcoming federal elections.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan also echoed his Umno counterpart by mocking Pakatan Harapan’s pick for PM.

“Do they think the people would be fooled so easily? Of course not. The people especially true Reformasi supporters are angry at the political ploy of both Tun M and Anwar.

“Do not think the issue between Tun M and Anwar were only confined to the politics of two individuals, but the reality was that both their personal disputes since 1998 have paralysed the national stability,” he said in a statement, referring to former deputy prime minister turned PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Abdul Rahman claimed it was the strife between Dr Mahathir and Anwar that gave birth to hate politics for the past 20 years in the country.

He said the issue of Dr Mahathir and Anwar’s willingness to put aside their differences was not confined to two individuals, but that it was an issue of national stability.

“The people were aggrieved when both of them announced their mutual cooperation and forgiveness for one another for the sake of political interest after being at odds for 20 years.

“The blood, sweat, tears and personal sacrifices of those who defended Anwar for 20 years have all gone to waste in a blink of an eye,” he said.

At its convention yesterday, PH comprising PKR, DAP, Parti Amanah Negara and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia finally agreed to Dr Mahathir as its prime minister-designate if it wins the next general elections, due by August.

However, the agreement states that Dr Mahathir must relinquish the position to Anwar once the latter is freed from prison and if the PKR de facto leader receives a royal pardon.