“There’s no sign of any party introducing or promoting or lobbying for other names,” Anwar said. “This does not stop other individuals with ambitions with their own design. And this to me is quite irrelevant. Whether it has been discussed, whether it has been given legitimacy, the answer is no.”

Questions over when Anwar will take power have loomed over Malaysian politics ever since Mahathir led the coalition to a surprise victory last year. The conflict between Mahathir’s two likely successors raised the possibility that the 94-year-old would extend his stay in power as the ruling party struggled to contain internal dissent.

Mahathir has repeatedly promised to hand over power to Anwar, without setting a timeline. He said he would step down once he finds the country’s situation in an even keel, which could take two to three years.

“We should feel outraged and I consider this an ecological warfare,” Anwar said. “It is not a small matter. It is affecting essentially millions of our people,” he said, noting this requires governments to be more assertive.

Indonesian fires: Malaysia shuts schools and Singapore F1 threatened

“We have to be stronger, regardless of whether it’s Malaysia, Singapore or Indonesia – I mean these are big companies. Why are we not making sure they are being held accountable and at least bear part of the cost,” he said.

Stinging smoke from illegal burning to clear land for palm oil and paper plantations has covered western and central regions of Indonesia and parts of Malaysia, with thousands of people reporting acute respiratory illness. It’s revived fears of a repeat of 2015 when a total of 2.6 million hectares of land was affected, costing Indonesia 221 trillion rupiah (US$15.7 billion) in economic losses.

Najib was ‘briefed’ to say Jho Low had no role in 1MDB: former aide

A witness at Najib’s trial said China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, or SASAC, was offered projects including the East Coast Rail Link, which had been put on hold by Mahathir before being resumed at a lower cost of 44 billion ringgit (US$11 billion).

The Trans-Sabah gas pipeline, a Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok high-speed railway and the development of offshore financial hub Labuan were also tabled at the meeting, the witness said.

Government policy must also ensure fair distribution of wealth, fight corruption to address state leakages and reform the sedition law, Anwar said.

“The sedition law as it stands now cannot be defended and that has been our position,” Anwar said. “In the past extensive discussions, debates ... there was a consensus and we have to honour that.”

The government must also allay fears and concerns of ethnic Malays, noting affirmative action is vital for all races to escape poverty, he said.

In Malaysia, does the Umno-Pas ‘marriage’ threaten Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan?

Since taking government, Pakatan Harapan has struggled to maintain the support of the country’s Malay Muslim population, which makes up the country’s majority.

Backlash from Malay groups forced the administration to backtrack from its promises to ratify international treaties on anti-discrimination and crimes against humanity.