Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang wants to know who Pakatan Harapan's choice is with regard to the coalition's designated prime minister in the next general election.

This, following PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim decision to not offer himself as Harapan's candidate for prime minister.

"Is their choice now our former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad?

"There is no reason for any political coalition to hide this information from the voters," Tan said in a statement today.

This is because this is an "important and fundamental" matter to be decided by any political coalition before contesting in any general election, he said.

"How can a political coalition lead a country when they can't even decide on their designated prime minister?"

Voters, he added, have a right to know who will be a political coalition's choice as prime minister should they win the next general election.

"There is no reason for Harapan to continue hiding the identity of their designated prime minister unless they don't have a good candidate in hand.

"We urge Harapan to be transparent and announce their designated prime minister in view of Anwar's withdrawal."

Anwar wants Harapan to focus on winning

Explaining his decision, Anwar said that the move was to encourage Harapan to focus on the general election instead of squabbling over who will be prime minister if the opposition coalition wins.

In the statement released through his party, Anwar had urged Harapan to pour all its efforts into more pressing matters, saying that Harapan's attention must be fixed on national policies, the problems faced by the current system, and on winning the 14th general election.

After Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, an Umno splinter party, formally joined the opposition coalition in March, it had lobbied for its president Muhyiddin Yassin to be nominated as the prime ministerial candidate.

Bersatu later even explored the possibility of its chairperson, Mahathir making a brief comeback as prime minister.

PKR, however, had been adamant that Anwar was its anointed prime ministerial candidate and that its president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is Anwar's wife, would act as interim head of government pending his release from prison if the opposition won the next general election.

DAP and Parti Amanah Negara have also been supportive of the idea that Anwar should ultimately be the prime minister if the opposition wins.