Anwar doesn't have majority, but I would like to 'help' him, says Mahathir

Dr Mahathir Mohamad says he has no desire to become prime minister for a third term but is being asked to do so.

This is since PKR president Anwar Ibrahim doesn't have the necessary support, something he said he would like to "help" his former deputy with.

"There are certain people who are so strongly against him, that if he is named they will not give the support.

"And we need quite a number of supporters from the government party so that we can have the majority. I fear that there will be no majority if it depends on him alone. I would like to help him," Mahathir said in an interview with Hong Kong's Asia Times published today.

The former prime minister said this when asked why he can get a majority and not Anwar. Mahathir did not elaborate on how he would help Anwar.

Pakatan Harapan is trying to wrest back control of Putrajaya from Perikatan Nasional, but the issue of who should be prime minister has become a stumbling block.

PKR has refused to back Mahathir, insisting Anwar should be the premier candidate.

Mahathir has, in turn, issued an ultimatum on Tuesday that he would end ties with PKR and explore other options if they continue to oppose him.

DAP and Amanah, meanwhile, wanted Anwar to accept a second option as the nonagenarian's deputy for six months before taking over as prime minister.

According to Harapan's accounts, this second option was discussed after Mahathir himself proposed to return to power for six months during a June 9 meeting.

Mahathir reportedly asked at a later meeting for this to be extended to one year, but this was rejected by Warisan president Shafie Apdal.

However, in the interview with Asia Times, he said it was not his wish to return to power.

"A lot of people feel that, for a time at least, I should come back. I have no wish to come back. I mean, coming back three times is a bit too much," he said with a laugh.

"Again, the appeal by people is there, they all come, they all ask (and say) that if you are in, we will support. If you are not in, we will not support," he added.

It is believed that Warisan, Mahathir's supporters in Bersatu, as well as other potential defectors from PN are those not in favour of Anwar being in charge of the countercoup.

Meanwhile, Mahathir denied favouring Anwar's former deputy Azmin Ali to succeed him when Harapan was still in power.

"No. I have made my promise. I will step down but after that, it is up to the members of Parliament to give their support to the candidate.

"They can choose Anwar, of course, but they may not want to choose Anwar. That is up to them, it’s not for me to decide," he said.

He said while he was close with Azmin, the latter was a disappointment after taking part in the PN-coup in February.

He added that the Gombak MP had also "done something that the people do not like".

On what would happen should a vote no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin fail when Parliament convenes next month, Mahathir said they would have to wait for a general election.

However, he said the no-confidence motion would be valuable in giving him a chance to list out Muhyiddin's wrongdoings.

"Particularly with regards to his undermining his own coalition government in order to become prime minister.

"He does it through the backdoor, not in accordance with normal democratic practices," he said.

Mahathir also said Muhyiddin had become a dictator, citing his disputed dismissal from Bersatu.

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