INTERVIEW | PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim is in no rush to replace Dr Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister, reiterated his wife, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

"My dear, if he could not wait, he wouldn't have gone to prison.

"For the past 20 years he has been in (and out) of prison, and that tested not just his patience, but everyone’s," Wan Azizah told Malaysiakini in an interview at the Women and Family Development Ministry in Putrajaya yesterday.

Anwar was Mahathir's deputy prime minister in 1990s, and was seen as a likely successor to the premiership.

However, the two had a fall out in 1998, which led to Anwar's imprisonment on sodomy and corruption charges.

Once bitter foes, the two are now allies under Pakatan Harapan, and Mahathir is once again prime minister, with Anwar once more slated to take over the reigns once Mahathir steps down.

Anwar's release from his second stint in prison last month, however, triggered speculation that the PKR de facto leader was plotting to fast-track his succession.

However, Wan Azizah reiterated Anwar's continued assurance that he and their family were committed to supporting Mahathir's leadership.

"We are committed to helping the current government to tackle the nation's problems. We want to be remembered as Malaysians, it is not about positions," she said.

Asked about her experience working with Mahathir as his number two, Wan Azizah painted a picture of him as a flexible boss, rather than the dictator that her husband had once called him.

"He (Mahathir) gives me the room and opportunity to grow, and I can ask him things anytime and there are no limits placed.

"There is also room to make arguments... I can give our thoughts and sometimes it changes the path of things. He is open (to receiving feedback)," she said.