If Dr Mahathir does not go in May then Tommy Thomas has to go
If Mahathir goes in May, then Tommy Thomas will see his extension as AG for another year or two approved. If Mahathir does not go in May, then Tommy Thomas may not get his extension and will have to go — and a new AG, someone aligned to Mahathir rather than to DAP, will be talking over.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Many people (retired Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim and retired judge Gopal Sri Ram amongst them) have questioned the logic for PAS to propose a vote of confidence for Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Actually, there is a lot of logic for having this vote of confidence. Anyway, why are they so worried about it? Are they worried that Mahathir may fail to get support and the Pakatan Harapan government would have to resign to make way for GE15?
There would be no need for a vote of confidence if Pakatan Harapan — and the NGOs, movements, associations, etc., aligned to Pakatan Harapan — did not repeat every day non-stop that Mahathir MUST resign on or before May 2020 and hand power to Anwar Ibrahim.
Pakatan Harapan insists that Mahathir must go by May or else he is going to be kicked out by force
They might argue that this is the first time in Malaysian history that such a vote of confidence is being proposed (actually it is not the first time). Well, this is also the first time in Malaysian history that a Prime Minister has been given just two years to serve with an ‘expiry date’ of May 2020.
This is like when you buy a new car in the UK. Your car is given a ‘life’ of just three years, after which it needs to go in for a MOT test to check whether it is still roadworthy. If not, then it can no longer be taxed (road tax) and be driven on the road.
So, take this vote of confidence as a MOT test for Dr Mahathir to certify he is ‘roadworthy’ for another year or so.
The impression that Pakatan Harapan — and the NGOs, movements, associations, etc., aligned to Pakatan Harapan — is giving is that Mahathir is welcome for only two years. By May 2020, Mahathir is no longer welcome and must leave.
Mahathir’s people do not want Anwar as PM8 and they have said so openly
Mahathir, on the other hand, says he will not leave in May 2020. In fact, many of those people aligned to Mahathir — such as Kadir Jasin, Khairuddin Abu Hassan, etc. — condemn Anwar, say nasty things about Anwar, accuse Anwar of corruption and sexual misconduct, and say that Anwar is morally unsuitable to take over as PM8.
Anwar says he and Mahathir have a written agreement that the old man will serve for just two years and will step down and hand power on or before May 2020. Those aligned to Mahathir deny the existence of this written agreement and say that the May 2020 handover date was never stated.
All this ‘noise’ is giving the impression that Mahathir no longer commands the confidence of Pakatan Harapan and/or its leaders. People like Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng — Suara DAP or the voice of DAP — say Mahathir will definitely hand over power to Anwar on or before May 2020.
This gives the impression that DAP no longer wants Mahathir to remain in office.
Tommy Thomas’ extension letter has not been signed yet because Mahathir wants him to go
And we can understand why. DAP wants Tommy Thomas’ tenure as Attorney-General, which also ends in two years (around the same time as Mahathir’s tenure as PM), to be extended. His letter of extension has already been prepared but has not be signed yet. And it has not been signed yet because Mahathir does not agree to Tommy Thomas’ extension as AG.
If Mahathir goes in May, then Tommy Thomas will see his extension as AG for another year or two approved. If Mahathir does not go in May, then Tommy Thomas may not get his extension and will have to go — and a new AG, someone aligned to Mahathir rather than to DAP, will be talking over.
