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Pakatan Harapan supporters campaign for Dr Mahathir, Anwar to reconcile as coalition decides next move

KUALA LUMPUR — Pakatan Harapan (PH) supporters have taken to social media since Monday (June 15) to plead for Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Mr Anwar Ibrahim to bury the hatchet yet again and work together against the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

Mr Anwar Ibrahim and Dr Mahathir Mohamad are seen during a press conference after the Pakatan Harapan President Council Meeting at Yayasan Perdana Foundation, Feb 21, 2020.

Mr Anwar Ibrahim and Dr Mahathir Mohamad are seen during a press conference after the Pakatan Harapan President Council Meeting at Yayasan Perdana Foundation, Feb 21, 2020.

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KUALA LUMPUR — Pakatan Harapan (PH) supporters have taken to social media since Monday (June 15) to plead for Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Mr Anwar Ibrahim to bury the hatchet yet again and work together against the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

The campaign comes as PH is expected to meet on Tuesday and finalise its stance on allying with Parti Warisan Sabah and Dr Mahathir’s faction of disputed Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia members — a grouping which has been dubbed “Pakatan Plus”.

Social media users used the #DemiMalaysiA — Malay for “for the sake of Malaysia”, with the capital “M” referring to Dr Mahathir and “A” to Mr Anwar — to ask the two to put aside their differences, as PH remains undecided on who among the two should lead Pakatan Plus and be its prime minister candidate.

Among those who joined was DAP’s former deputy defence minister Liew Chin Tong who pointed out that the cooperation between the duo is necessary to unify PH and subsequently act as a check-and-balance against the PN administration led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

“Without Mahathir and Anwar working in unison, PH and its allies’ 109 seats will be fragmented and Muhyiddin will be the biggest winner. Refusing to join forces is akin to giving a free passage to Muhyiddin’s rule,’’ he said.

This comes as rumours on social media suggested that Pakatan Plus may have the support of up to 129 MPs should it make a move against Mr Muhyiddin and PN. This number has been disputed by PN MPs.

Mr Anwar has previously said PH had the support of 107 MPs, before Liew’s new number of 109 yesterday.

“With Pakatan Plus holding together, the kleptocratic coalition of Najib and Muhyiddin would have no room to manoeuvre and may crumble due to its own internal contradictions,’’ said Mr Liew in another tweet.

Mr Liew was referring to former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, whom many in PH including Dr Mahathir, have pointed out as the real influence behind the PN administration.

Twitter user @LagaCawan said both men are formidable in their own right, and must work together to return the voters’ mandate.

Meanwhile, user @_joni_joni_joni posted a photo of the duo together in their heyday back in Umno, and hoped that the spirit of deliberation and consensus remains the tenet of all PH component parties.

Malay Mail previously reported sources saying Pakatan Plus had proposed for PKR president Anwar to be the deputy prime minister under Dr Mahathir, together with another deputy in Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.

It is believed that the proposal had two conditions: that Dr Mahathir would only be prime minister for six months, and that Mr Anwar must command the support from Sabah and Sarawak.

PH said it would give its answer on Tuesday, a week after the last public Pakatan Plus meeting at PKR headquarters.

The venue and time of the PH meeting has yet to be determined.

Prior to the fall of the PH administration, PH had agreed that the transition of power from Dr Mahathir towards Mr Anwar should be left in the hands of the former prime minister, who has vowed that it would have been after the Apec Summit in November this year.

Ever since then, the duo have traded jabs in media interviews and public speeches.

It is believed that talks of snap polls have intensified within PN, which is also facing internal squabbles, especially between former rivals Umno and its splinter Bersatu, and it has yet to decide if it will still back Mr Muhyiddin as prime minister should a general election be called. MALAY MAIL

Related topics

Mahathir Mohamad Anwar Ibrahim Pakatan Harapan Malaysia Perikatan Nasional Malaysia politics

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