Malaysia’s Mahathir says opposition backs Shafie Apdal as PM candidate

Name: Mahathir Mohamad on Malaysia’s politics, US-China relations and the pandemic
Uploaded: 2020-06-27T13:23:15.000Z
Duration: 28 min 52 s
Description: Mahathir Mohamad on Malaysia’s politics, US-China relations and the pandemic

The former premier said the Sabah chief minister was picked as he was among leaders who opposed wrongdoings perpetrated by Najib’s government

The allies also agreed to name Anwar and Mukhriz Mahathir as the deputy prime ministers

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Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad with Anwar Ibrahim (L). Photo: AP

Bloomberg

Published: 9:23pm, 27 Jun 2020Updated: 10:13pm, 27 Jun 2020

Some of Malaysia’s opposition parties will back Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal as the candidate to become the nation’s next prime minister, former premier Mahathir Mohamad said.

The opposition parties are Warisan, DAP and Amanah, Mahathir said in a statement on Saturday. Shafie was picked as he was among political leaders who opposed wrongdoings perpetrated by the Barisan Nasional government that was in place before the 14th general election, he said.

The parties also agreed to name Anwar Ibrahim as the first deputy prime minister and Mukhriz Mahathir as the second deputy prime minister, he said.

There will be a tabling of a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin soon in parliament, Mahathir said.

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Mahathir Mohamad on Malaysia’s politics, US-China relations and the pandemic

Last month, Mahathir, however, conceded that he does not believe he has the numbers required to command the majority support of parliament, claiming that Muhyiddin had won over supporters by giving them government roles. “Maybe we will lose because what he has done may also be considered sogokan (bribes), because they were given ministers and deputy ministers’ posts,” he said.

It is believed Muhyiddin’s coalition holds a precarious majority in Malaysia’s 222-member parliament, but Wong Chin Huat, a political scientist at Sunway University, said Pakatan Harapan needed to offer the public a more long-term plan than “merely toppling the government”.