He said the suggestion to name Shafie was also supported by Amanah and DAP leaders during a meeting with Warisan leaders.
“Because I am naming him, I hope the grassroots will accept Shafie’s candidacy. I think that if I am no longer around, we want someone to carry on our fight.
“That is why we ask to support Shafie because Warisan is aligned to me in the fight against Najib Razak and Muhyiddin Yassin,” he said in a video recording taken at a meeting with PPBM grassroots from Terengganu at Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana last night.
FMT has contacted Amanah and DAP leaders for comment.
Mahathir also revealed that Anwar Ibrahim was adamant in being named as prime minister if the Pakatan Harapan plus coalition wins back power from Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Mahathir said even though others in PH had tried to persuade him, Anwar still did not agree for him (Mahathir) to be acting prime minister, even if it was for just one day.
“We had asked him to agree that I be prime minister for six months and he could take over after that. But he still does not want me to be PM, even for one day. He rejected me (as PM) completely.
“After every meeting, the same thing happened. He will say he needs time to think. A week later, it will be the same thing again and he will not agree. It is as if he is the only one who can be the prime minister,” he said in the video, which has gone viral.
Mahathir maintained that he was to be named as PH prime ministerial candidate to help the coalition attain a majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
At a recent PPBM meeting, Mahathir said he was informed that PH was not agreeable to Anwar becoming the prime minister straightaway as many felt the PKR president had a lot of enemies and it would make it difficult for the coalition to get majority support to return to power.
“We cannot give (the candidacy) to him. He has a lot of enemies … In fact, there will be certain people who will leave us. So, if there’re not enough numbers, we cannot get back to forming the government.
“I’d just like to say that it’s not that I wish to be the prime minister again,” he said adding that he has been prime minister for 24 years in total.
“But many are of the view that Malays will not give PH the support if there is no participation from me. If that is correct, then I am willing to be PM. I am 94 years old, I want to rest too,” he said.
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