Anwar says refusal to meddle in Najib’s criminal cases cost support for PM bid

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he had the sworn support of 120 federal lawmakers to be the prime minister in 2020 until he rejected Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s request for him to interfere in the latter’s criminal cases.

According to Malaysiakini, Anwar said he was asked to use his eventual authority as the PM to ensure Najib’s cases did not proceed, but he was unwilling to do so.

“So, even though I already had enough numbers and my road to become prime minister was clear, I was not ready to compromise the independence of our judiciary,” the Port Dickson MP was quoted as saying.

Anwar said Najib and Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi were among those who had backed Anwar’s unsuccessful bid to replace Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the prime minister.

In 2020, Anwar purported to have a “strong and convincing” majority to form the next government to replace Muhyiddin’s administration, and was mocked after the takeover never materialised.

This week, however, Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman corroborated Anwar’s claim in a press conference held in retaliation of his removal from the Umno Supreme Council on Ahmad Zahid’s orders.

Tajuddin said he was among 15 Umno MPs including Najib and Ahmad Zahid who signed the SDs affirming support for Anwar.

Today, Anwar said that while he knew of the 15 SDs from the Umno lawmakers, those and several others had been sent directly to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“However, even though the number of support had come to 120, Pakatan Harapan was holding to a principle that we would never accept SD from Najib and Zahid.

“While they still have the right to sign SD in support of anyone, on the Harapan side, we did not accept their support, albeit them having sent the SDs directly to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. So, minus the two, we still had 118,” he was quoted saying in Malaysiakini.

Anwar also rejected allegations that PH was willing to work with those facing corruption cases to get into power.

PH unexpectedly won the 2018 general election but its government collapsed in February 2020 after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned as the prime minister, allowing Muhyiddin to take over.

Since then, Muhyiddin has been forced from office and replaced by Umno’s Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.