Azmin-Mahathir's heels-dragging in Harapan power transition

FMT:

Pro-Anwar PH leaders were against Dewan Rakyat vote to choose Dr M’s successor, audio reveals

Saifuddin Nasution and Xavier Jayakumar, among PH leaders who said it would be up to the coalition, not the Dewan Rakyat, to choose the prime minister 

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders gunning for Anwar Ibrahim to replace Dr Mahathir Mohamad were not in favour of going to Parliament to choose the next prime minister, an audio recording of a heated, two-hour meeting days before the coalition’s collapse in February has revealed.

Three vocal pro-Anwar ministers who took this stand were PKR leaders Saifuddin Nasution and Xavier Jayakumar, and Amanah’s Khalid Samad, all of whom were part of the Mahathir-led Cabinet.

Saifuddin disagreed with his then-party colleague Mohamed Azmin Ali, who earlier said that any prime ministerial appointment must go through Parliament in the spirit of the constitution, and was not up to the PH presidential council.

He said Mahathir himself was appointed “outside of Parliament” in the wake of the May 9 general election.

“The appointment of the prime minister took place outside Parliament, at the palace, with confirmation from four parties who won the majority,” Saifuddin said during a late-night PH presidential council meeting on Feb 21, a day before the nation was thrown into political crisis after several leaders broke ranks and held meetings with rival parties Umno and PAS at a hotel in Petaling Jaya.

“It was in the palace that the announcement and appointment of the prime minister was made after His Majesty was convinced that the four parties forming the majority were chosen by the people in a lawful general election.

“Did we turn our back on the constitution? No,” Saifuddin was heard saying in an audio recording of the meeting.

A recording of the entire meeting was independently verified by several leaders who attended.

Saifuddin’s view was echoed by Xavier, who said it was up to PH to name the next prime minister.

“If you want to rule, and we want to have a stable government, and we want to keep the term going and have another term, I think it is we who have to make that decision, Tun,” he said.

“Not the people outside, not Parliament. It is we that have to decide on this,” Xavier, who was the minister for water, land and natural resources, was heard telling Mahathir.

The duo’s view contrasted with that of Mahathir, who repeatedly warned his coalition partners during the meeting that Parliament would ultimately decide if his replacement had the confidence of the majority.

“Although we decide here, it may be rejected by the public, it may be rejected by the Parliament,” he said.

The meeting was held on the back of growing pressure from Anwar’s supporters in PH for Mahathir to step down.

Before the May election, PH said Mahathir would be made prime minister if the coalition took power, and that Anwar would succeed him following his release from prison.

Wakakaka. Firstly, the title of the FMT article on the audio recording of PH presidential council meeting 3 fateful months ago, to wit, 'Pro-Anwar PH leaders were against Dewan Rakyat vote to choose Dr M’s successor', to my personal reading insinuates that those 'Pro-Anwar PH leaders' were wrong not to accept Dewan Rakyat vote to determine the Mahathir's successor.

It's bloody KERBAU. HM YDPA appoints an elected MP (from the Dewan Rakyat) who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs as the prime minister (PM), usually the leader of the party winning the most seats in a GE.

In other words, the PM or the head of the executive branch (indeed, at both federal and state levels, PM and  MB/CM respectively), is usually an elected member of the majority party/coalition.

That has NOT changed since Al Marhum Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1955. Mahathir himself was so elected/appointed as PM on several occasions including his umpteen stint as PM in May 2018. Likewise with other Commonwealth nations practising the Westminster parliamentary system around the World.

No majority party or coalition bloody eff-ing go back to parliament to seek a preference for a succeeding PM in any mid-term handover. Didn't Mahathir himself handed the PM reins over to AAB in similar fashion, and didn't Mahathir himself again "force" AAB (through undermining tactics) to likewise hand over to his (originally) mentee Najib Razak without going back to parliament to seek approval?

And most significant of all, didn't Mahathir himself become the 7th PM without going to parliament to seek a show of hands? 

Najib, you're now so dead; should have helped Boi-Boi become a VP in UMNO

But as we can read from above, Azmin Ali wanted to change the rules of the ballgame, obviously to hamper, obstruct and sabotage Anwar Ibrahim's succession as PM.

Yes, didn't Azmin Ali become MB Selangor on 23 September 2014, following the "forced" resignation of the previous MB Khalid Ibrahim, also without going to the Selangor Assembly (DUN) to seek approval - which if he had, would have resulted in him being being rejected kaukau as MB. Azmin had to cower behind the yellow sarong and the green banner to usurp the MB position from Wan Azizah.

In the end, Mahathir himself added to the sabotage as can be read in the FMT article, specifically in the paragraph: The duo’s view contrasted with that of Mahathir, who repeatedly warned his coalition partners during the meeting that Parliament would ultimately decide if his replacement had the confidence of the majority.

WTF kok-tok for a man who had become PM numerous times, even as recent as May 2018.

But we know Mahathir had, through his several kerbau's, heels dragging and evasive responses, not/never welcomed handing the PM position over to Anwar Ibrahim. The vindictive Old Man with his bitter elephantine memory has never forgiven Anwar for 1997.

Well, he can now live kuai-kuai while waiting for the Dewan Rakyat to approve Muhyiddin as PM, though when that will be remains unknown, wakakaka.