Gerakan: Be clear on Pakatan PM candidate

(The Star) – Pakatan Harapan should make it clear who is the coalition’s prime minister candidate should it seize Putrajaya, said Tan Keng Liang.

The Gerakan Youth chief said there was no reason for the coalition to hide the information from voters, especially after jailed PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he would not offer himself as Pakatan’s candidate for the post.

“Is their choice now our former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad? There is no reason for any political coalition to hide this information from the voters,” said Tan in a statement on Sunday.

He added that this is an important and fundamental matter to be decided by any political coalition before contesting in a general election.

“There is no reason for Pakatan to continue to hide the identity of their designated prime minister unless they don’t have a good candidate in hand,” said Tan.

On Saturday, Anwar said that he would not offer himself as Pakatan Harapan’s candidate for the prime minister’s post, citing friction over the top post among the Opposition parties.

He said he had decided not to become prime minister if the Opposition wins the general election, adding that the parties should focus on winning the general election.

Anwar said that the ongoing “friction” caused by debates over the issue was “exhausting”, adding that the decision was best left to the voters.