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PETALING JAYA (THE STAR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – The plan to form Perikatan Nasional originated from Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad himself to make him prime minister supported by all members of Parliament from all parties, Chief Minister Azmin Ali said .
He also said that the general elections would have been held last month if not for the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic currently facing the country.
In an exclusive interview with The Star, the Minister for International Trade and Industry and the Gombak MP shared details of what happened behind the scenes that led to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government and why he left the side of Parti President Keadilan Rakyat. (PKR), Anwar Ibrahim after 30 years.
“Perikatan is not a back door government as there was a vacancy (in the post of prime minister). I did not suggest at the time – if (Dr. Mahathir’s resignation) did not happen then – that we knock on the door and take it out and we went in, “said Datuk Seri Azmin.
“That was not the plan or the case.”
Relating to what happened before Dr. Mahathir’s resignation, Azmin said that on February 23, 131 statutory statements by MPs from all parties were presented at the palace.
“It was all because of a name as prime minister: Dr. Mahathir. So we were making a great effort to ensure that Dr. Mahathir would continue to serve as prime minister,” Azmin said.
“That was the meeting we had at his home on February 23 at 4 pm when he met with the six leaders of the political parties, including the President of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the President of Umno, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Parti Warisan Sabah President Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) Director Datuk Seri Abang Johari, and myself, “said the Mr. Azmin.
He also questioned why Dr. Mahathir had planned the Malaysian Congress with Umno and the Islamic Party of Malaysia PAS on October 6 last year if in fact he was against working with Umno.
Mr. Azmin then shared how the whole plan went haywire when Dr. Mahathir resigned the next morning.
He said: “We were plunged into a political crisis when the acting prime minister, Dr. Mahathir, resigned.
“If Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin hadn’t acted inside that little window, someone else could have rushed into the palace and pressured the palace to become prime minister. I would not have allowed that to happen.
“The only option for Muhyiddin and I was to leave Pakatan.”
Subsequently, Mr. Azmin left PKR with nine other deputies.
He said party leaders returned to meet with Dr. Mahathir on February 24 to ask him what happened.
“We discussed before returning to the palace. Then he was appointed interim prime minister,” Azmin said.
“Again, during that period, February 24-28, we worked around the clock to get the numbers. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the strong, formidable numbers until Friday.”
He continued: “So I told Dr. Mahathir that in any democratic system, you need the numbers. If you go to the elections, you need numbers. You go to Parliament, you need numbers. You go to the palace, you need the numbers.
“If you don’t have the numbers, there’s not much we can do. Since there wasn’t a parliament meeting then, under the Federal Constitution, the King had to decide who had the support of the majority to be prime minister.”
Mr Azmin added: “Ultimately, Muhyiddin got that majority. Of course, we came as a new government, not through an election but through a political crisis. But that crisis came about because this man submitted his resignation.
“If Dr. Mahathir had not resigned that Monday, he would still be prime minister with a larger majority.”
Faced with the accusations that it was a government through the back door, Azmin said: “The King opened the door for us to enter, so it was not a government through the back door.”
When asked if he still had ties to Dr. Mahathir, Azmin said he considered him a father.
“I still have a lot of respect, love and affection for Dr. Mahathir. He is our statesman,” he said. “He may not agree with what he did on February 24 when he submitted his resignation without sharing it with us beforehand.”
He added: “I am not saying that we vetoed him, but based on our discussion on Sunday 23rd February, we had plans for him before the opening of Parliament on 9th March.”
Mr. Azmin insisted that he did not choose Mr. Muhyiddin over Dr. Mahathir.
“I think we should allow Muhyiddin to lead, especially during this pandemic. Whatever they say, I think he has done a very good job, very focused on handling the Covid-19 pandemic and reviving the economy with less politics,” he said. Mr. Azmin.
“So it is fair that all deputies and citizens give their support.”
On whether Perikatan would seek a mandate from the people through a general election, Azmin admitted that had the Covid-19 pandemic not occurred, elections would have been held last month.
“Although we arrived with a majority, in all humility, I must say that the majority is small. When the majority is small, the government is weak. When the government is weak (or) not stable, then we do not have the opportunity.” focus on delivery for the rakyat (people), “he said.
“If you ask me, of course, we are ready to go back to the rakyat to get the mandate. If you ask me when we should have received the mandate, I would say it should have been last month, but unfortunately, we are facing the Covid-19 pandemic.” .
Azmin continued: “The word ‘choice’ is so toxic. Society cannot accept that, because they just want the government to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 and help retain jobs and make sure there is food on the table.
“So that’s our focus now. But certainly when this pandemic ends, we don’t know when, hopefully in the near future, we will return to the rakyat to seek its mandate.”
He said only the Health Ministry could give the green light to the elections before Perikatan’s term expires.
On working with Umno and PAS, who sometimes openly mock Perikatan, Azmin said it was all part of democracy.
“Perhaps for the Malaysian media, it is a bit strange that members of the government speak so loudly in public,” he said.
“As for Muhyiddin and the cabinet, we accept criticism as this is part of the democratic process. But of course, it is also our responsibility to explain, engage and allow the process to grow so that we can make more solid decisions on policies and programs. individuals “.
He added: “Look at the budget. This is the first time in the history of the Finance Ministry that the minister himself has been involved with opposition leaders. This never happened during the Barisan Nasional or Pakatan governments.”
“This is unprecedented because we allow the democratic process as we needed your input. This budget is for the rakyat and the opposition is also representative of the rakyat.”
On his own political ambitions, Azmin said it was fate that got him where he is now.
“I am a reluctant politician. I must thank Dr. Mahathir for getting involved in politics in 1998,” he said.
“When I served Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (as an assistant) for 15 years (when Anwar was Minister of Education, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister), he had no interest in participating in politics until he was fired in 1998,” Azmin said. .
“Then I had to be together with the rakyat, part of the reformasi and then part of the political party, Keadilan Nasional. That was the first political party in which I actively participated, in 1999.”
He continued: “I am not ambitious in politics. At PKR, I was denied in 2008 when we won in Selangor. Someone else was named mentri to kiss and again, when Anwar unceremoniously eliminated him, the intention was not for me to succeed.
“Langkah Kajang happened and that is politics. By divine intervention, I was appointed Selangor MB. I worked very hard and in the last general election of 2018, for the first time, Pakatan won 51.56 percent of the vote in Selangor.”
Said Mr. Azmin: “Then when the Pakatan government was formed in Selangor my name was no longer there. They told me to go to the federal government and I had to sit down with the Sultan of Selangor to get his consent to move out of Selangor to the federal government.
“He gave his consent for me to go to the federal government, as long as I support the development of Selangor under the Economic Planning Unit.”
When asked why he had gotten into a fight with Anwar, whom he had supported for decades, Azmin said it was not his fault.
“I have served him for 30 years, officially 15 years when (he) held the positions of ministers of education and finance and DPM (deputy prime minister).
“I also took care of his family when he was in prison. I thought that after he was released, he would come out a better person.”
Mr. Azmin continued: “Unfortunately, he became a bitter person, not only for me but for the entire nation.
“It is seen that his closest team left him and many others from his previous personal team have also left.
Mr. Azmin gave the names of some people. “You can’t blame me alone, then, for leaving him.”
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