This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on February 21, 2020 - February 27, 2020
KUALA LUMPUR: There should be no pressure on anyone over the transition of power between Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the two leaders have stated that it will happen after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November.
Anwar said both of them and the Pakatan Harapan presidential council would like to see a peaceful and orderly transfer taking place while they continue to work together.
“Both of us and the Harapan council have decided the change will be smooth, peaceful and orderly and we will still continue to work as a team,” Anwar said at a press conference after a talk he gave entitled “The Construct of a Nation: As I See It” at HELP University yesterday.
To a question on whether the Pakatan council meeting today would set a date for the transition to take place, Anwar said: “No, we will discuss.”
“The transition is part of the deal and it can be resolved in half an hour. The focus is on the economy,” Anwar said, referring to an agreement among the Pakatan council members before the 14th general election that if the coalition came to power, Dr Mahathir would be the prime minister and Anwar would take over from him.
In his talk, which was carried live on the university’s Facebook page, Anwar said the nation needs to make a shift towards a mature democracy.
“My task is to ensure that when I assume office, I will create this nation as a mature democracy [that upholds] the rule of law, and assure the vast majority of the Malays that you will be secure,” he said.