Umno supreme council member Mahdzir Khalid has described a proposal for PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to take reigns as an interim prime minister, should Pakatan Harapan win the next election, as "political comedy".

The suggestion was made by DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang recently, who proposed that Wan Azizah hold onto the post until her husband Anwar Ibrahim was freed from jail following a royal pardon.

According to Bernama, Mahdzir said the suggestion was impractical as the Agong would have to appoint Anwar as prime minister immediately after granting him a pardon.

"It is absolutely unrealistic. Imagine Wan Azizah having to vacate her seat after Anwar gets the pardon from the Agong to allow for a by-election, which then have to be followed by many other processes.

"All these cannot be done in a short time," he told reporters in Alor Setar today.

Harapan not serious

Mahdzir said the opposition was trying to give the impression that they have capable leaders for the premiership, but in reality, there does not appear to be any consensus on who was their candidate for prime minister.

"They are not serious when talking about leadership... They are not confident in their decision. Every party has their own agenda," he said.

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar recently confirmed that Pakatan Harapan and their allies Parti Pribumi Bersatu (Bersatu) will hold discussions soon to identify their candidate for prime minister.

This person, said Nurul Izzah, must be committed to the reform agenda. However, the ultimate goal was still to have Anwar installed as prime minister. Anwar is currently serving a five year jail sentence for sodomy after exhausting all legal avenues to appeal.

Similarly, Lim told a dinner function in Penang recently that he was in favour of Wan Azizah serving as interim prime minister while Bersatu chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin served as her deputy.

However, as Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak pointed out, Anwar was not guaranteed a pardon even if he asked for one. He believed that Harapan must spell out what would happen if the pardon was not granted.