PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad says he does not have to give his support or loyalty to an opposition leader, in a dig at PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.
He said just because Anwar was the opposition leader in the Dewan Rakyat, it does not mean the current Pakatan Harapan chairman commanded the majority of opposition MPs.
“We are not under him. He is named the opposition leader but he does not control us. We can do what we like, that is a given where Parliament is concerned.
“I have no need to place support or loyalty to an opposition leader,” he said in a joint press conference with Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah here today.
Mahathir said he was with the opposition because he could not be with the government, and especially because he had been a part of the Pakatan Harapan coalition that brought down the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
“I joined the opposition because I wanted to change the kleptocratic government into a proper government. But now, the kleptocratic government has managed to oust the government and take over the country.
“But it’s not being the opposition that counts, what counts is my dedication to the country. The opposition can only be useful if it can do something for the country,” he said.
On reports that Anwar had obtained statutory declarations (SDs) from several Umno MPs stating their support for him to become prime minister, Mahathir said he too had signed SDs from MPs from both sides of the divide back in February, but it came to nothing.
“Back then , everyone supported me but I didn’t win. SDs do not count. What counts is what happens in Parliament,” he said.
During the press conference, Mahathir hinted that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration could fall at the final vote for the 2021 budget., urging MPs to go beyond party lines in their vote for the supply bill.
Asked if he had consulted Anwar over the formation of a new administration should PN fall, Mahathir said, “He has not been in contact with me, so I didn’t discuss it with him.”
Meanwhile, Razaleigh did not answer when asked if he would be sitting with the opposition in the Dewan Rakyat, but said he wanted to ensure Malaysia had a legitimate government.
“I am here sharing this platform with Mahathir purely because I want to make sure that we have a legitimate government. The government we have today isn’t a legitimate government and the prime minister we have today is not legitimate,” he said.
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