Mahathir still wants his MAGERAN and Hannah Yeoh

Pejuang refuses to join PM jostling, adamant on council dominated by non-politicians

Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) is refusing to join the jostling for a new prime ministerial candidate to replace Muhyiddin Yassin who is expected to resign tomorrow, insisting that a National Operations Council-style should replace the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

Pejuang deputy president Marzuki Yahya (above) said to date, his party has not had any serious discussion on backing anyone as the next prime minister.

"Until now, until the time you called me, Pejuang has never decided on anyone we support to be the prime minister.

"Our stand is very simple - with the current situation of the country, there is no way of a political solution.

"The best way that we suggest is the National Recovery Council (NRC) that looks after the country and the rakyat's well being," he told Malaysiakini.

Marzuki also refuted reports that Dr Mahathir Mohamad had purportedly met with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in Petaling Jaya this evening.

Anwar's aide had similarly denied any such meeting.

Earlier, PKR information chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin claimed he received information that Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri, who is vying to become the next prime minister, had reached out to Mahathir.

However, Shamsul said he had no details about the purported meeting.

Pejuang, which has four MPs, is part of a bloc with Warisan which has eight MPs.

Pejuang chairperson Mahathir had proposed the NRC which is modelled after the NOC that governed the country after the 1969 riots until 1971.

The eight-member NOC governed with emergency powers while Parliament was suspended.



However, Mahathir's version will see Parliament continue to operate.

Mahathir, who previously made the proposal to Istana Negara, had named a 20-member team composed of mostly non-politicians.

They include medical experts Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman, Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Dr Lam Sai Kit, Dr Musa Nordin, Dr Amar Singh HSS and Dr Kumitaa Theva Das and legal experts Shad Saleem Faruqi and Salleh Buang.

He also proposed former minister Rafidah Aziz, economist Jomo K Sundaram, ex-Petronas executive Mohd Haasan Marican, ex-banker Li See Yan, educationists Tunku Ali Redhauddin Tuanku Muhriz and Mohd Shukri Ab Yajid, teacher Samuel Isaiah and businessperson Mohamed Azman Yahya be part of the council.

The only politicians he had proposed, which he said were based on their performance during the pandemic, were Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Azalina Othman Said, DAP's Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh, PKR's Lembah Pantai MP Ahmad Fahmi Fadzil and Muda's Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.