KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman strongly chastised his peers in Pakatan Harapan (PH) for constantly pressuring Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to step down.

He said this was, in his view, an irresponsible and undisciplined act, and more importantly does not prioritise the welfare of the country and voters.

“Get your house in order, and stop demanding for our democratically-elected prime minister to step down and please respect Pakatan’s consensus,” Syed Saddiq said in a statement.

Despite his claim, the prime minister is not democratically-elected by voters, but instead is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong based on the party who commands majority support in the Dewan Rakyat.

Advertisement

Noting that Dr Mahathir has always insisted that PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is to take over, he questioned how Dr Mahathir is expected to run the country when faced with this constant barrage of pressure on a daily basis by those viewed as Anwar’s allies.

“Since last year they have been questioning Tun Dr Mahathir’s position, sidelining the Pakatan consensus. It has not even been two or three years and already they are pushing for him to resign.

“Even when pressured left and right by Datuk Seri Anwar’s allies, Tun Dr Mahathir still stands firm out of respect for the Pakatan consensus,” Syed Saddiq said.

Advertisement

He singled out some as Anwar’s strongest supporters, both within PKR and DAP, including Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy, Sungai Petani MP Datuk Johari Abdul, Sungai Pelek assemblyman Ronnie Liu, Kapar MP Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid, PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, PKR youth secretary Ahmad Syukri Che Razab, former PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali, as those who have not ceased questioning Dr Mahathir’s position.

“If they can sideline the Pakatan consensus and mutual agreement , can I do the same then, if I wanted to?” he said.

Syed Saddiq made his remark ahead of Bersatu’s party elections at several levels between this month and March.

This comes even as Dr Mahathir warned yesterday that his ruling coalition could be a one-term government if it does not make changes and stop infighting.

The 94-year-old prime minister reiterated he would give way to Anwar after November, when Kuala Lumpur will host world leaders for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, and before the coalition’s five-year term is completed in 2023.