Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday that all Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs are backing him as prime minister - placing himself and the coalition at odds with interim Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
The announcement confirmed an earlier Straits Times report that all 92 MPs from PH component parties PKR, Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Amanah Negara were instructed by their respective party chiefs to back Datuk Seri Anwar when asked by the King for their decision.
The apparent U-turn, coming after DAP and Amanah expressed support on Monday for Tun Dr Mahathir to return as premier, was a response to the interim Prime Minister's plan to form a unity government and his decision to turn down an invitation to chair a meeting of the PH presidential council.
Speaking briefly at a press conference yesterday, Mr Anwar said the coalition changed its stance after Dr Mahathir turned down an invitation to a PH presidential council meeting.
"The PH presidential council had invited Tun Dr Mahathir to chair a meeting to restore the PH government, but Tun did not agree to attend the meeting on Tuesday evening," he said.
"As such, the presidential council yesterday decided to nominate Anwar Ibrahim as PH's prime minister candidate."
He added: "Pakatan Harapan remains committed to the people's aspirations and trust to steer the country towards a better direction from the economic, political and social standpoint. We will not betray this trust."
But Mr Anwar declined to say if he had garnered sufficient support from a majority of lawmakers in Parliament, saying the matter was subject to the King's discretion.
"On the issue of numbers, we have now left it to the discretion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. It is completely improper, impolite to discuss that question because only the Agong is privy to that matter."
A subsequent post, "Summary of How Pakatan Harapan Arrived at the Final Decision", on the Facebook page of DAP assistant national publicity secretary Yeo Bee Yin said that DAP expressed support before Dr Mahathir floated his idea of a unity government of individuals.
"This (unity government) means that... DAP and other political parties will not be consulted in the process," she said. "Therefore, the PH leadership decided at the meeting to defend the people's mandate to the PH government and to fulfil our PH manifesto by nominating Anwar Ibrahim as PH PM."
Mr Anwar's press conference took place just an hour after Dr Mahathir's televised address where he spoke about his intention to form a unity government.
There had been signs early yesterday as Pakatan Harapan MPs met the King that allegiances were shifting.
PKR's Wangsa Maju MP Tan Yee Kew told reporters after emerging from the palace that they were supporting Mr Anwar as Malaysia's eighth prime minister.
"We are fully with Anwar," she said. "I believe Amanah and DAP are with us."
Then, Amanah communications director Khalid Samad posted on Twitter that Mr Anwar should be given a chance.
"Tun (Dr Mahathir) resigned. Made the interim Prime Minister. Give a chance to DSAI (Mr Anwar) to prove whether he has support to become the eighth PM. It is a position that cannot simply be inherited or handed down. You must have the support of the majority of MPs. We hope PPBM (Dr Mahathir's party) fulfils its promise. Tun the seventh PM, DSAI the eighth PM," he wrote.
