Commenting on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s statement that he would consider leading the country again if he was asked to, Anwar said it was not Mahathir’s call to make.
“It is not for him (to decide), it is for Harapan (to decide).
“People don’t volunteer (to be prime minister), there has to be a consensus,” news portal Malaysiakini reported him as saying on the sidelines of a court hearing in Shah Alam today.
Mahathir, who served as prime minister from 1981 to 2003, has been touted by several quarters as the best person to lead the country if the opposition comes into power.
Former minister Zaid Ibrahim said this would ensure political stability should there be a change of government.
Mahathir himself initially ruled out the possibility, telling FMT in an exclusive interview that he was now “old” and had no interest in filling the position.
The PPBM chairman added that there was no point discussing the prime minister-designate if the coalition still failed to win at the next general election.
However, in a live Facebook session last week, he said he would consider the move if he was asked.
“But I won’t turn on my friends in Pakatan Harapan,” he said, referring to the other component parties in the opposition coalition: DAP, PKR and Amanah.
PKR has consistently championed Anwar for prime minister, with the party’s deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali saying that freeing Anwar was akin to freeing the people.
Anwar is currently serving a five-year jail sentence for sodomising his former aide. While he is scheduled to be released in 2020, the country’s laws prevent him from contesting in an election or holding a political position for five years after his release.