A group of Pakatan Harapan grassroots are not in favour of former senator Ezam Mohd Noor "complicating" matters by proposing Selangor menteri besar Mohamed Azmin Ali as the interim prime minister.

"We see Ezam as nothing more than a proxy of the cartel linked to Azmin, who are trying to promote him as prime minister by ignoring the decisions of the presidential council," a member of Gerakan Aktivis Harapan (GAH) told Malaysiakini today.

"Be careful of these proxies who are out to create chaos in Harapan. We the members will support the decision of the presidential council," warned the group.

Ezam had suggested that Harapan needed to field new faces, adding that the coalition was not short of younger talent.

This came in light of Harapan holding discussions on whether to name coalition chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the official candidate for “interim” prime minister.

Azmin, who is PKR's deputy president, is believed to have fostered faction loyal to him within the party, in opposition to other camps led by Anwar's family and outspoken Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli.

But those seen as supportive of Azmin beg to differ, saying PKR promotes freedom of speech and views among its leaders and members.

GAH is collective represented by Zanirun Baba, Othman Ismail, Annuar Ismail, Mohd Saad Ismail, Lee Thian Soo and a “Dr Maniam,” who requested anonymity.

The group wants Harapan to focus its energies on a leader who can act against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s "kleptocracy regime."

The opposition coalition's council is expected to deliberate on their choice of prime ministerial candidate, ahead of an expected announcement during its national convention on Jan 7.

When contacted, PKR national deputy youth chief Dr Afif Bahardin stressed that Ezam only expressed his personal view, adding that the party believes in discussing the matter internally.

"Personally, I believe we need a PM candidate who will portray hope, and appeals to the rakyat.

"The person must have a proven track record and have the charisma to resolve all the chronic and cancerous systemic problems that we have inherited under the 60-year rule of the Umno-BN regime," he said.