Anwar And Shafie Pejuang S Top Picks Open To Ismail Sabri As Well

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Pakatan Harapan leader Anwar Ibrahim and Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal are the top picks for Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) to be the next prime minister.
On the same note, party president Mukhriz Mahathir said Pejuang is prepared to support any prime minister candidate with sufficient majority except those from Umno’s “court cluster”.
He said this means Pejuang is also willing to work with Bersatu, PAS as well as Umno and BN lawmakers, who are not part of the above cluster.
The “court cluster” includes Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former premier Najib Abdul Razak.
Pejuang, Mukhriz said, is also prepared to accept Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the prime minister candidate if there is no other option.
“Since the onset, our principle has been to oppose corruption. Because of this, we will have problems if the majority we support includes what we know as the ‘court cluster’,” he told Astro Awani.
Asked if Pejuang is willing to support opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal and Ismail Sabri, he replied: “We are open to all three.”
“But our priority is our friends in Pakatan Harapan. So our focus is on the first two (candidates),” he added.

Mohd Shafie Apdal
Mukhriz also urged MPs not to defect when the new government is formed, asking them to respect the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s wishes and people’s mandate in the 14th general election.
Noting the absence of a law to prevent party-hopping, the Jerlun MP said the next government could also meet a similar fate like the previous Harapan administration.
Mukhriz hoped that none of the lawmakers would threaten to switch camps when the person does not get what he or she wants.
“This will lead to another round of political instability and distract the government from something which is far more important – to manage the health crisis.
“We cannot guarantee this. But if we heed the king’s wishes, we must compromise, sacrifice and not be too rigid in our stand,” he added.
Pejuang, which has four MPs in its stable, was formed by Mukhriz’s father and former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad after the collapse of the Harapan government, which the latter headed.
Prior to the last general election, Mahathir formed Bersatu together with Muhyiddin Yassin in their bid to oust Najib. Bersatu later joined Harapan comprising PKR, DAP and Amanah.
During its 22-month reign, Harapan was also rattled by internal problems between Mahathir and Anwar, who were sworn foes in the past.
This was over allegations that Mahathir, who became prime minister for the second time at the age of 93, would not honour the agreement to pass the leadership baton to Anwar.
In February last year, Muhyiddin, who is the Bersatu president, seized power through a political coup after forming a new alliance called Perikatan Nasional together with a group of defectors from PKR.
Muhyiddin, who was appointed as prime minister on March 1, 2020 resigned yesterday after losing majority support in the Dewan Rakyat.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong has since appointed Muhyiddin as caretaker prime minister until a successor is found. - Mkini

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