Muhyiddin: Anwar's premiership held back by DAP link

GE15 | Pakatan Harapan chief Anwar Ibrahim's pursuit to become prime minister will remain a pipe dream as long as he is in alliance with DAP, claimed Perikatan Nasional leader Muhyiddin Yassin.

Speaking at the Jelajah PN Best ceramah series in Tambun, Perak yesterday, Muhyiddin told a crowd of 600 people that Anwar will never achieve his goal because Malays would continue to reject DAP.

Muhyiddin said during his short stint as prime minister, he had conveyed this message to Anwar.

"I said 'Sorry Anwar. (But) I'm the prime minister (now)'. I told him he would never become prime minister as long as he is with DAP.

"I told him frankly," he added.

DAP has been supporting Anwar's bid for the prime ministership since the 1999 general election.

As DAP primarily draws support from the Chinese and Indian voters, PN leaders have been repeatedly using this fact to paint the Harapan coalition, which Anwar leads, as a non-Malay-dominated coalition.

As for PN, Muhyiddin is their sole candidate for prime minister. Both Muhyiddin and Anwar are 75 years old.

To shore up his own credentials, Muhyiddin claimed that he had received Anwar's endorsement back in 1998 when the latter was the deputy prime minister.

At the time, Anwar was seen as the heir apparent to then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Anwar was sacked as the deputy prime minister and as a member of Umno in September 1998.

"Anwar told me 'Mahathir said he would retire soon'. I will become the prime minister and you'll be my deputy," claimed Muhyiddin.

Muhyiddin, who was prime minister for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, said he had the administrative skills necessary to run the country, while Anwar, who has been out of Putrajaya for 23 years, was rusty.

"It's not like I want to badmouth Anwar, he is my friend.

"It would be quite difficult for him to return to be the prime minister as he needs to understand the policies and actions (needed to be taken).

"We would face a big risk in this situation. The people's woes may not be solved in a short period of time, and the people have no patience to wait around," he said.

‘Peja the giant, not a giant killer’

Muhyiddin then stumped for the PN candidate for the Tambun parliamentary seat, Ahmad Faizal Azumu, stating that he was the favourite to take down Anwar, who is the challenger.

"God willing, Peja (Faizal’s nickname) will win and he will win big.

"You (Peja) are not a giant killer. You are a giant out to kill this guy (Anwar)," he said.

Meanwhile, Faizal, in his speech, said he was certain Anwar was behind in the race for Tambun.

"If he is very confident, he won't be erecting big posters," he said, referring numerous big billboards and posters depicting Anwar dotting the constituency.

"I think the people should look at his track record and what he has done before this - whether he really has the morals to be appointed as the prime minister."

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