Francis Paul Siah, who heads the Movement for Change Sarawak, said a nation should always expect to face problems.
“Assuming the current economic problem is fixed, there will always be another problem,” he told FMT.
Mahathir has frequently said that he had to fix economic problems inherited from the previous administration before he could make way for Anwar.
Last week, he told a forum in New York that he needed at the most three more years before stepping down, sparking a fresh round of criticism from PKR leaders aligned to Anwar.
Siah said it is “politically unhealthy” for Mahathir to procrastinate on the issue, and warned of growing mistrust against the veteran leader.
He said this was complicated by the revelation that Mahathir had met opposition leaders from Umno, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak without Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) approval.
He said Mahathir’s statement that he would step down before the next general election was not reassuring, coming not long after Anwar said he would take over the premiership next year.
“The people’s perception is that the two men must have agreed on a date before Anwar told Bloomberg a few days earlier that he would be prime minister by next year,” he said.
He said Mahathir must set a definite date, similar to what he did before his retirement in 2003, when he passed the baton to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
“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 date of handover to Anwar,” he said.
He said one such rumour is that Mahathir was trying to groom his son Mukhriz Mahathir for the top post.
“We only have sympathy for Mahathir when people start describing him as the ‘sly old fox’ up to his old tricks again, or the ‘same old dictator’ or the ‘evil doctor’.
“There are those who have never forgiven Mahathir for his past abuses and wrongdoings,” he added.
Siah reminded Mahathir that Malaysians not only voted for Mahathir, but also for Anwar, who was named by PH leaders to become the eighth prime minister.
“This is the people’s verdict. It is incumbent upon Mahathir and PH to abide by the wishes of the people,” he said.