Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad reiterated that only the Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council will determine his position as prime minister.

Mahathir said the suggestion by opposition members of parliament that he remains prime minister until the next general election was only their opinion.

“That is their opinion. The one that will determine (me as prime minister) is the Harapan Presidential Council. We (Harapan's presidential council) will decide.

"If it was them, (the opposition) that made me prime minister before the (14th) General Election, they would have the right to ask me to stay longer," Mahathir told a press conference with Malaysian journalists on Sunday night, before ending his two-day official visit to Turkmenistan today.

Last Thursday, six Umno MPs, in a press conference at the Parliament Lobby, voiced their support for Mahathir to continue as prime minister until the next general election.

The six MPs were Mohd Shahar Abdullah (Paya Besar), Dr Adham Baba (Tenggara), Mastura Mohd Yazid (Kuala Kangsar), Abdul Rahman Mohamad (Lipis), Ismail Abdul Muttalib (Maran) and Ahmad Nazlan Idris (Jerantut).

Meanwhile, Mahathir, who is here for a two-day official visit beginning on Sunday (Oct 27), said that he could not set a specific time frame for the transition of the country’s leadership.

“I promise I won’t stay too long, but I think based on my past experience I can try to correct all the wrongdoings of (former prime minister) Najib (Abdul Razak).

“When I am satisfied, I will not continue (as prime minister), but I can not give the specific time as the country is in really big trouble that we cannot easily solve. We have a lot of debt and Najib has damaged the government machinery.

“That and other problems left by Najib need to be fixed,” he said.

Under the Harapan agreement before GE14, it was stipulated that Mahathir will be appointed prime minister and that he will later hand over leadership to Anwar Ibrahim. However, no time frame was specified.

- Bernama