KUCHING, Sept 28: Movement for Change Sarawak (MoCS) has urged Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to fix a date to handover premiership to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“MoCS hopes that Mahathir will stop his procrastination and set a promised date in order to give Malaysians a sense of direction, as well as ensure political stability.
“Malaysians will surely wish to remember and cherish Mahathir, not for his chequered past, but as the nation’s foremost statesman,” said MoCS chairman Francis Siah in a statement today.
He said it has been politically unhealthy for Dr Mahathir to procrastinate on the issue, because the more he does and drags, the more mistrust the people have in him.
To Siah, the statements made by Dr Mahathir such as “I need more time to fix the economy” and the latest “three years the most” in New York were all meaningless.
The fact that Dr Mahathir made the statement just after Anwar had declared that he would take over as premier in 2020 was “not very reassuring”, added Siah.
“The people’s perception is that the two men must have agreed on a date before Anwar told Bloomberg a few days ago that he would be prime minister by next year.”
Siah said Dr Mahathir must pave way for Anwar as he had done when he passed the administration of the country to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2003.
“The transition was smooth and everyone was happy. This is what Malaysians want to see again.”
Siah asserted that time needed to be set to give time for Anwar to prepare himself.
“Pakatan Harapan needs time to prepare for a transition and the successor also could do with more time for some soul-searching, notably in selecting the best cabinet. He needs men and women of calibre and integrity and those he is able to work with,” he added.
Siah said Malaysia has been caught in a political conundrum which is a new experience for the whole nation.
“GE14 (14th general election) was a people’s victory, but that historic episode brought along this peculiar quagmire we are in today.
“For the first time, we have a deputy prime minister who is not interested to be prime minister. We have a prime minister-designate who is neither here nor there as he is not even a cabinet member,” he continued.
Siah alleged that it has been perceived that Dr Mahathir is the one who has created such “shenanigans”.
“That is not fair to Mahathir, but it cannot be denied that there is growing mistrust against the prime minister.”
Siah said rumours have been unkind to Dr Mahathir but it was expected as people are disappointed and angry.
“Disappointed and angry people are bound to create rumours but it would do the nation and people a lot of good if Mahathir could help curb rumour-mongering by announcing a definite handover date to Anwar.
“It is important to remember that when Malaysians voted on May 9 last year, they not only voted for Mahathir to be prime minister for two years; they also voted for Anwar to succeed Mahathir as prime minister.
“This is the people’s verdict. It is incumbent upon Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan to abide by the wishes of the people,” said Siah.
Two days ago, Dr Mahathir announced in New York that he would step down as prime minister before the next general election, against the initial promise of stepping down two years after May 9 victory.
The statement was made following Answer telling Bloomberg Television that he was expecting to take over the premiership May next year. — DayakDaily
