UPDATED 10.35PM | Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal said the opposition bloc has agreed that he will be their second choice for prime minister candidate, after PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

Shafie explained that they already have a baseline support of 105 MPs, so whichever of the two can gather the required majority will be named as their prime ministerial candidate.

“Actually we have a cooperation among us friends. Just now, myself and Anwar, (DAP president) Lim Guan Eng, (Amanah president) Mohamad Sabu and (Pejuang chairperson) Dr Mahathir Mohamad, we have agreed that we have to decide on a candidate for prime minister.

“First is Anwar, and the second candidate will be me.

“We have a base of the existing 105 MPs. Whoever among us can gather enough votes to increase that strength will enable us to become the candidate.

“If Anwar can bring in a bigger number than me, then I will give way to him and vice versa,” Shafie said in an interview on Astro Awani tonight.

Earlier, Warisan Youth chief Mohd Azis Jamman had said his party will support Anwar’s bid for premiership on the condition that he proves he has the numbers and it does not include the “court cluster”.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, Azis said his party has been trying to convince other MPs to back Anwar.

Should Anwar fail to cobble together a majority, Warisan’s position is that then he should return the gesture and support Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal’s attempt, said Azis.

“We have made our stand (clear). No ‘court cluster’,” he said.

Azis explained that the baseline used was “105”. This refers to the loose alliance of the MPs in Pakatan Harapan, Warisan, Parti Bersatu Sarawak, Pejuang, Muda and one independent.

Mohd Azis Jamman

To have a simple majority, a prime minister candidate would need the support of at least 111 MPs.

There are currently 220 MPs. Two seats in the Dewan Rakyat are vacant.

“If in the event Anwar cannot pass the magic number, we hope he will give the same opportunity for Shafie to convince another seven (to support him). We will try our best.

“If Shafie can find another seven, we hope Harapan will support us. We will give a chance for Anwar to prove his majority. He is the first choice (for us), then Shafie.”

However, Azis warned that time was against them and that his party hoped that Anwar could make a decision by today.

“Time is not on our side. We need to make a quick decision. If Anwar can find another seven, as long as it does not involve the ‘court cluster’, we will be on board. We will support him,” he said.

Istana Negara expects MPs to state, in writing, who they support for the next prime minister by 4pm tomorrow.

Azis said Warisan has been trying to help convince MPs to support Anwar over the past few days.

“We also tolong (help) Anwar. You can’t say otherwise. However, sometimes people say things like ‘I can support Shafie, but not Anwar’.

“Some people are difficult to convince, but we’re playing our part. Shafie is also playing his part to get Anwar the numbers. Some MPs have their own preferences,” he claimed.

The “court cluster” is a name coined by Perikatan Nasional supporters to refer to several Umno MPs who are either convicted or currently facing criminal charges.

Meanwhile, Azis noted a meeting was held last night between several parties including Warisan, Pejuang, Upko, Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) and Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB).

“We need to be on the same page as we were slated to meet with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong today. We need to decide on a stand, we need to name someone; otherwise, everyone may have different stands,” he said.

“We agreed that our first choice is to support Anwar according to the people’s mandate in the 14th general election, provided he can get the number. Our second choice is Shafie,” he said.

“Our agreement included that we are not going to work with the ‘court cluster’,” added Azis, who is also Sepanggar MP.

Yesterday, PSB president Wong Soon Koh was reported as saying that his party would not support Anwar if the latter worked with Umno leaders who faced corruption charges in court.

PSB controls two parliamentary seats in Dewan Rakyat.

Malaysiakini has contacted Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Pejuang deputy president Marzuki Yahya, and Upko president Wilfred Madius Tangau for comment.

Currently, the independent and opposition bloc hold a total 105 parliamentary seats - DAP (42), PKR (35), Amanah (11), Warisan (8), Pejuang (4), PSB (2), Upko (1) and two independent MPs (Syed Saddiq and Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik).

Anwar is currently shy of at least six to seven seats to become the next prime minister.

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