‘Interim PM’ while I’m in jail, says Anwar
(Malaysiakini) – Pakatan Rakyat will appoint an interim prime minister in the event that the opposition coalition comes to power should its leader Anwar Ibrahim be behind bars. Speaking to Malaysiakini in an interview days before his sodomy trial verdict is delivered, the PKR de facto leader however made it clear that he will assume prime ministership once he is out of prison.
“We did discuss this among the Pakatan leadership (in the event of imprisonment). But is that a real problem? No. Because if we win, there is going to be an interim PM.
“Of course, I’m keen that once we win, I shouldn’t be in prison for far too long,” he said at his office in Tropicana, Petaling Jaya yesterday.
He added that such a scenario has happened in countries like Turkey where the AK Party had in 2002 won power while its leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was in prison.
“This interim thing (PMship) is easy… However, when I asked (then Turkish interim PM) Abdullah Gül how it was, he said, ‘Huh! You think it was easy, that boss of mine expected me to brief him everyday in prison,” he quipped.
Four months later, Gül secured legislation allowing Erdogan’s return to politics, and the party leader took over as PM. Gül was subsequently appointed deputy prime minister and foreign minister.
Late yesterday, PAS central committee member Hasan Ali said that if Anwar is convicted, PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat or PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang should be the first Pakatan prime minister.
Anwar had in the interview conceded that the selection of the interim prime minister will be a thorny issue, despite the fact that the person will only be a seat warmer.
“It can be contentious as the next senior Malay leader is Hadi. Can there be a consensus? We did discuss all these options,” he said.
