PUTRAJAYA, Feb 22 (NNN-BERNAMA) — No date has been fixed for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to hand over the post of prime minister to his successor.
Dr Mahathir said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Presidential Council meeting Friday night decided that he would determine when to step down.
“I’ve already said after the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit (in November). No time…no date…nothing. It’s up to me to determine the date,” he told a press conference after chairing the meeting at the Perdana Leadership Foundation here Friday.
Dr Mahathir, who is PH chairman, said it was a unanimous decision made by the meeting.
The meeting, which lasted about three hours, was attended by PH president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Parti Amanah Negara president Mohamad Sabu.
Asked if the meeting also agreed that Anwar would be the eighth prime minister, Dr Mahathir said: “That doesn’t arise. The position is for me to make the decision after APEC.”
Anwar, who was seated next to Dr Mahathir during the press conference, said: “I myself suggested that Tun Dr Mahathir be given the space to administer and when the time comes (for the handover)…he will fix a suitable date, and in the meantime I have to be patient.”
“Our stand is clear, no doubts; our commitment is to ensure that Tun Dr Mahathir as prime minister can discharge his duties with (our) full support. This was not questioned,” Anwar said.