PETALING JAYA: There is yet another call for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to hand over the reins to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim soon, as pledged in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) manifesto before the May 9, 2018 general elections.
Electoral watchdog group Bersih 2.0, Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) and several other civil society groups have sent an open letter to PH urging the coalition to “stick to its promises”.
The signatories, who claimed to be non-partisan, noted that PH had, in its pre-GE14 agreement, put in place a clear transition plan that would see PKR president Anwar made deputy prime minister in six months and to take over as prime minister by 2021 “to bring political stability in the country”.
“PH has nearly four years that remain in its term to deliver on its promises of reforms and prosperity for the nation,“ the group said in their open letter.
It said the on-going feud in PKR, which is the biggest party in the coalition, was a cause for much concern both locally and internationally given that it could break up the coalition and “cast our nation into political disarray”.
“If political stability is not restored, the reform agenda of the PH government would stall, or worse whatever achieved so far would be reversed. Our concern is strictly limited to political stability and accountability within the term of the 14th Parliament, and does not indicate any preference for the next general elections,“ it said.
The group called on Mahathir to set a date before May 9, 2021 to hand power over to Anwar, who is the Port Dickson MP.
“With a clear and publicly known transition plan, it will eliminate rumours and conspiracy theories perpetuated by those who seek to gain from instability and a break-up of the coalition,“ it added.
