Khalid Samad: Pakatan could still be in power if Dr M had played delayed tactics

SHAH ALAM – The infamous Sheraton Move could have been delayed if then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had played delay tactics and did not agree, indefinitely, that he would resign and hand over the reins of the administration to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad.

Khalid Samad, who is also the party’s info chief and a member of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council, recalled the events in the last week of their administration where Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) along with 11 PKR parliamentarians left the coalition to form the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration together with political rivals Umno and Pas.

Among the key events is the night of Feb 22, 2020, when the PH presidential council meeting took place.

It was during this meeting that Dr Mahathir had agreed to resign after the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit in November of that year.

“During the presidential council meeting, it was all agreed, after a lot of haggling and jostling, that Tun Dr Mahathir will make way for Anwar after APEC.

“Initially, there were those who asked him to step down earlier, Azmin however 'said no, we go for the full five years' and of course, the members in Bersatu were not happy that he (Dr Mahathir) should resign and make way for Anwar and two years is just too short,’’ said Khalid, who was referring to then PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.

In this exclusive interview , Khalid had sat down with Sinar Daily to discuss contemporary politics.

Among the topics were if and how PH lawmakers can move past the Sheraton move and how the past three years have seen many political upheavals amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the interview, Khalid also opined that the confirmation by Dr Mahathir to make way for Anwar had prompted Azmin and those in Bersatu to act and subsequently started a chain of events that led to the meeting in the Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya later that night.

“In the end, Tun (Dr Mahathir) said ‘we settled it after APEC, at the end of the year I would resign. The exact date doesn’t ask me but I will decide when and I will make way for Anwar’.

“That led to the meeting of Bersatu the following day, where they decide to leave Pakatan Harapan. Tun was objecting to the move. Tun didn't agree to Bersatu leaving Pakatan Harapan but once the party has made the decision there is nothing he could do.

“Knowing that the following day, Azmin had called for the meeting, having negotiations with Umno, with Pas and everyone came to Sheraton hotel and everything else is history,’’ said Khalid.

In hindsight, Khalid said the fall of the PH administration could have been delayed if Dr Mahathir had delayed his resignation.

“People say that the fall of the PH government would not have happened if Tun had agreed to Anwar (taking over) but I think it happen because Tun agreed to hand it over to Anwar.

“So the people who objected to it made their move. If Tun had agreed on Friday (Saturday, Feb 22, 2020) not to surrender the position to Anwar and say okay let’s postpone it to another meeting or whatever or let my party decide...

“Had he had played delayed tactics then, then it wouldn’t have happened. It would have happened later,’’ said Khalid.