The party’s information chief, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, said as a “new” coalition, PH should keep to its promise and not be easily unsettled by challenges that come its way.
“Don’t be easily unsettled by what was decided (by the PH presidential council).
“We should not budge from our promise to name Anwar Ibrahim as the prime minister. Don’t panic and propose someone else,” he said at the PKR information convention in Ampang here this morning.
Shamsul said the PKR president had endured many challenges, including incarceration.
“Now, Anwar has returned to lead PKR and is again being tested,” he said.
Earlier this month, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said PH was committed to its original stand to name Anwar as its prime minister in the event it wins back power.
Previously, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had proposed Anwar and former PPBM deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir to be appointed deputy prime ministers if Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal became the prime minister.
Mahathir said this had been agreed upon at an informal meeting on June 25 attended by him, Shafie, Mukhriz, Mohamad Sabu, Lim and others from the DAP.
Last month, DAP and Amanah told PKR to return to PH’s consensus to back Mahathir as the ninth prime minister, as Anwar was not expected to achieve majority support in parliament.
Their statement did not sit well with some quarters in PKR, with one leader from Selangor urging the party to ditch DAP and Amanah.
Mahathir and five MPs aligned to him subsequently announced themselves as an independent bloc following disagreement with PH’s decision to back Anwar as prime minister candidate.
Meanwhile, Shamsul said PKR will be cleaned up following disciplinary action against and dismissal of some 400 members.
“There are groups we want to purge from the party, but it has to go through the central leadership committee,” he said.
He also said the party intends to wrest back the Ampang and Gombak parliamentary seats, following the sacking of former vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin and deputy president Azmin Ali, respectively.
The duo were sacked for joining forces with PPBM, PAS and Barisan Nasional to form the Perikatan Nasional government.