Harapan commits to earlier decision of Anwar as PM candidate
The Pakatan Harapan presidential council today decided to commit to its earlier decision that PKR president Anwar Ibrahim will be the coalition’s prime ministerial candidate.
The council also said that Anwar now has a full mandate from the coalition to continue discussions with all parties to return the people's mandate to Harapan.
According to a statement released by the council this afternoon, a meeting earlier today also discussed the suggestion to name Warisan president Shafie Apdal as a candidate for the top post.
"The presidential council's view is that all efforts towards returning the people's mandate must be carried out with much-needed support from all parties.
"As such, the council gives full mandate to Anwar to continue discussions with all parties including Shafie in order to get back the people's mandate," said the statement.
The statement, signed by chiefs of all three parties of Harapan, was released after the council concluded its meeting held at PKR’s headquarters in Petaling Jaya.
When met outside the venue later, Anwar was asked to clarify the statement further.
"The mandate means they are giving me the room to discuss (with Harapan allies)," he said.
However, Anwar declined to answer further questions - whether it means that further discussions would be based on the amount of support or if he is willing to give way to Shafie.
"The statement is clear," he said, referring to the council's press release.
The meeting – which started around 10.30am – was joined by top leaders of the coalition's component parties, including Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, and PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, among others.
On Friday, it was reported that Harapan would hold its presidential council meeting this week to discuss and decide on the prime ministerial candidate for the opposition coalition.
This came after Amanah and DAP concluded that the proposal to make Shafie as the prime minister for Harapan and its allies should be jointly decided at the coalition level.
Shafie's name came up as an alternative after Harapan and its allies, dubbed as Pakatan Harapan Plus, could not arrive at a consensus on the candidate for prime minister.
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad revealed the proposal to name Shafie should Harapan take over the federal government, while Anwar and Mukhriz would both be deputy prime ministers.
