Anwar speaks during a dialogue session with Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) students. — Bernama photo
SHAH ALAM: The president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is confident that there would not be any problem in the process of the transition of power later, as Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has given his assurance to keep his promise.
He said the confidence came about following his weekly meetings with Dr Mahathir and he was satisfied at the continuous assurance made by the prime minister.
“I guarantee he (Dr Mahathir) will honour his promise of surrendering power but the promise is predicated upon a consensus of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and PH has decided prior to the election,” he told reporters after becoming a guest of a dialogue session with Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) students here yesterday.
On the query that discussions on the period of power transition had never been discussed prior to this, Anwar, who is also Port Dickson Member of Parliament, regarded it as inaccurate.
“I think it’s always a problem when we have to pick and choose what (the) PM said. There were discussions (on power transition) … I think overall, consistently, he (Dr Mahathir) will honour the agreement and his promise. I view that positively because we should not publicly state the time, that would render the rule of the present PM (prime minister) as quite ineffective,” he said.
Nevertheless, Anwar said the actual date of the transition of power would be discussed later. Last week, the media reported that at the dialogue session organised by the Council of Foreign Relations in New York, Dr Mahathir said he would step down from his post before the 15th General Election or three years at the most.
The media also reported that Anwar had told Bloomberg Television that he expected to take over the national administration next year. — Bernama