PUTRAJAYA, Jan 22 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has today accused Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of not being “elected” by the voters to become the prime minister.
Therefore, the former prime minister challenged his former deputy to call a general election this year to prove that the latter has the backing of voters.
“This man has become prime minister by default, not because he was elected,” Dr Mahathir told reporters here, referring to Anwar.
“But during my time, I think every election I won with a two-thirds majority, the people had a chance to throw me out. If I had abused my position, the people had a chance to throw me out.”
“I challenge Anwar to call for a GE today whether he dares or not to see what the people would say,” he added.
Following the 15th general election, no single party or coalition won enough parliamentary seats for a simple majority of 112 to form the federal government, leading to a coalition between Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and their allies.
Despite Dr Mahathir’s claim, in Malaysia’s electoral system, the leader of the coalition that holds the majority of the Parliament will be nominated to become the prime minister. Voters do not have the power to choose who is the prime minister, but choose which coalition to vote for based on its prime minister candidate.
Anwar currently holds the support of 152 out of the 222 MPs in Dewan Rakyat, guaranteeing him a super-majority of two-thirds support.
In contrast, Dr Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan administration after the 14th general election did not hold a two-thirds majority — contradicting his assertion today.
The Anwar administration does not need to hold a general election until February 2028.
