Dr Mahathir: Pakatan govt would’ve stayed in power if I was chosen as PM candidate instead of Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 — Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has once again slammed Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders for not backing him as prime minister during last year’s leadership crisis which led to the fall of the coalition’s government.

In a blog post today, Dr Mahathir slammed DAP’s veteran leader Lim Kit Siang for claiming the reason the PH government had dissolved was due to the former resigning as prime minister.

Instead, Dr Mahathir blamed PH for its decision to name its chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as prime ministerial candidate as the reason behind the fall.

“Kit Siang will certainly not admit the fall of PH not because I resigned.

“What really made PH fall was choosing Anwar to be the prime minister before the Agong.

“If PH named me, everything that is happening now will not happen,” he wrote.

Yesterday, Dr Mahathir claimed that he was unsuccessful in forming a unity government last year after the collapse of the PH administration due to the claim that he was a “dictator”.

Lim retaliated on the same day, expressing surprise over Dr Mahathir’s remark, labelling it as his “own conjecture” and called the latter’s resignation that led to PH’s collapse after just 22 months as the federal government an “egregious blunder”.

Today, Dr Mahathir doubled down saying that as Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia have deserted PH and himself, the coalition no longer had the majority and should have united to choose a leader during Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s interview with each MPs in February last year.

However, Dr Mahathir said 92 MPs supported Anwar while only 62 supported him.

“If my candidate PH is as I am entitled to, I will get 154 votes. I am willing to return as prime minister even if Bersatu rejects me.

“After the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s next nomination failed to determine the new PM, PH leaders including Anwar came to see me with the proposal to elect me as PM,” he said on the development.

However, the plan ultimately failed as Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was chosen as the PM after his party Bersatu found support from Umno, Barisan Nasional, PAS and Sarawak parties.