Dr Mahathir, accompanied by Anwar, speaks at the press conference after chairing the PH Presidential Council meeting in Putrajaya in November, last year. — Bernama photo
IPOH: Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) communications director Khalid Samad yesterday expressed hope that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim can put aside their political differences for the sake of the country.
He said the former prime minister and PKR president should sit down and iron out their issues for the wellbeing of the country, in the process bringing Pakatan Harapan (PH) closer together.
“For Amanah, the gap between them was detrimental to PH. The last time we held a PH meeting was in June and after that, the situation got worse and we did not meet again,” he told reporters after launching the fifth Perak Amanah Convention here.
Dr Mahathir was PH chairman before he resigned as Prime Minister on Feb 24, a few days after a reported tensed PH Presidential Meeting over issues centred on the power transition for the prime minister’s post.
The same issue has resurfaced of late after Anwar, who is Opposition leader, claimed to have majority support from members of parliament (MPs) to form a new government.
On Tuesday, Anwar had an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara to provide documentation to support his claim.
However, Istana Negara in a statement later said Anwar only presented the number but not the list of MPs allegedly supporting him.
The statement also said that Al-Sultan Abdullah had advised Anwar to abide by and respect the legal process as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
Earlier in his speech, Khalid admitted that PH – which now consists of PKR, Amanah and DAP – faced a challenging task of winning against Perikatan Nasional in the next general election.
“PH used to face PAS and UMNO separately, but now we are facing united parties. Previously, Bersatu was with us and now they (PAS and UMNO) cooperate with Bersatu.
“We have to understand that the political landscape has changed. So far, despite their quarrels, they are still united. They know when to put differences aside,” said Khalid. – Bernama