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Mahathir appointed Pakatan Harapan’s chairman, to begin effort to free Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) on Friday (July 14) declared it will begin the process of freeing jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim within one week of forming the next government.

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: Reuters

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: Reuters

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KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) on Friday (July 14) declared it will begin the process of freeing jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim within one week of forming the next government.

The move comes after the pact finally announced its presidential council line-up earlier in the day, and named Dr Mahathir Mohamad — the head of the pact’s smallest and youngest party — its chairman.

Dr Mahathir’s appointment ended months of negotiations between the four Opposition parties – Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) and Dr Mahathir’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) – on the leadership structure.

One rung lower in the line-up is federal Opposition Leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who is the pact’s president while Anwar was symbolically made de facto leader, mirroring his position in PKR.

The two, along with Dr Mahathir will share the responsibility of leading PH into the next general election — which has to be called by next year — against ruling coalition Barisan Nasional.

Dr Mahathir said Friday the relevant legal processes will be followed in the pact’s application to sought a royal pardon for Anwar, who is currently serving a five year jail term for sodomy.

“We will wait for the law to take its course, not immediately because the prime minister who takes over will have a lot to do,” The Star Online quoted him as saying.

The two former nemesis reconciled last September when Dr Mahathir turned up at court and shook hands with Anwar in a show of support for his former deputy’s bid to challenge a new security law.

Both men are united in their aims to oust Prime Minister Najib Razak in the next general election.

PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin will be one of three deputy presidents in PH along with DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu.

PH also announced its common logo — the word “Harapan” (Hope) — in white on a red background, and with the central “A” shaped as a chevron — that will be used by all its candidates should the coalition be registered in time for the general election.

Dr Mahathir said they will submit the new leadership line-up and logo to the Registrar of Societies for the formal application.

“We will register it as soon as possible, once we complete the details. We already have the structure. We will send it together with the logo,” the former prime minister said.

The pact also released bullet-points of their intended 100-day policies should PH win federal power, which include repealing the Goods and Services Tax (GST), “stabilising” fuel prices and solving “issues” linked to the government-owned federal land development authority, among others.

There were no details on what either of the latter two would entail.

The announcement of PH’s new line-up however was criticised by leaders from the ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno).

“When I saw the line-up, I thought it was a recipe for disaster because it’s very confusing. In fact, I think they are also confused because they don’t know who should be the leader,” supreme council member Nazri Aziz told The Star.

Umno treasurer-general Salleh Said Keruak meanwhile questioned why no DAP leader occupied any of the top three positions in PH’s new line-up despite the Chinese majority party holding the highest number of lawmakers in the opposition coalition.

“Is DAP being sidelined or was the move intended so that this coalition is perceived to be dominated by the Malays?” Mr Salleh asked in a blog post.

On social media, PH’s line-up was met with a mix of scepticism and relief.

Facebook user Md Tahir said: “Well done. One positive step to bring down such an incompetent government!!”, while another user, Mr Lawrence Khan said: “Formidable front. Stay united and bring good and honour to the country again.”

Mr Farbi Farby praised the line-up, saying the leaders had charisma, and an excellent record in administrating, managing and developing the country.

“They are consistent in fighting for people’s rights, to give them back their say. They are always with the people in rebuilding the nation. They stand together with the people through thick and thin,” he said on Facebook.

But many are shaking their heads in disbelief at how Dr Mahathir and Anwar could join forces, and questioning how the opposition could work with the former, whom they have opposed for years.

Dr Mahathir was prime minister from 1981 to 2003. During his tenure, dissent against the government was not tolerated, with opposition leaders like DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang and the late Karpal Singh placed under Internal Security Act (ISA) detention during the 1987 Ops Lalang crackdown

Facebook user Ainn Domm said many PH supporters had been opposed to “Dr Mahathir’s regime” since the beginning, and were now upset.

“Either they will choose not to vote or vote in protest.”

Mr Shashi Kumar said PH was worse than BN, noting that it only has one Indian representative in its line-up.

“They are worse than BN. The Indians are placed last. BN at least gives 4 (positions). Why does Tun have to be in PH? He will ruin the coalition because he is from Umno,” he said in reference to Dr Mahathir’s honorific title. AGENCIES

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