Dr M: Only presidential body can determine if I will remain PM until GE15

ASHGABAT (Turkmenistan): Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has reiterated that only the Pakatan Harapan presidential council will determine his position as prime minister.He said the suggestion by Opposition MPs that he remain prime minister until the next general election was only their opinion.

“That is their opinion. The one who will make the decision is the presidential council. We (Pakatan’s presidential council) will decide.

“If it was them (the Opposition) who made me prime minister before the general election, they would have the right to ask me to stay longer,” Dr Mahathir told a press conference with Malaysian journalists on Sunday night before ending his two-day official visit to Turkmenistan.

Last Thursday, six Umno MPs in a press conference voiced their support for Dr Mahathir to continue as prime minister until the next general election.

They were Mohd Shahar Abdullah (Paya Besar), Datuk Dr Adham Baba (Tenggara), Datin Mastura Mohd Yazid (Kuala Kangsar), Datuk Abdul Rahman Mohamad (Lipis), Datuk Seri Ismail Abdul Muttalib (Maran) and Datuk Ahmad Nazlan Idris (Jerantut).

Dr Mahathir also said he could not set a specific time frame for the transition of the country’s leadership.

“I promise I won’t stay too long but I think that based on my past experience, I can try to correct all the wrongdoings of (former prime minister) Datuk Seri Najib (Tun Razak).

“When I am satisfied, I will not continue (as prime minister) but I cannot give the specific time as the country is facing big problems that we cannot easily solve.

“That and other problems left by Najib need to be fixed,” Dr Mahathir added.

Under the Pakatan agreement before the 14th General Election, it was stipulated that Dr Mahathir would be appointed prime minister and that he would later hand over leadership to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

However, no time frame was specified. — Bernama

Source: TheStar