Big tent ‘okay’, but without Muhyiddin and Anwar - Dr Mahathir

SHAH ALAM - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he acknowledged the importance of the cooperation between the opposition under the 'big tent' approach, but not if it was led by either Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or PKR's Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Pejuang chairman described the two leaders as wanting to pursue their personal agendas without putting the people first.

“Yes, if possible, we (should) have a big tent due to the problems faced by the country, especially the problems faced by the Malay people.

“Sorry, but we have to find the right people, not those who come into politics for the money," he was quoted saying to Utusan Malaysia.

Dr Mahathir said previously, Anwar has made several announcements to become the Prime Minister, but the latter's bid was unsuccessful as he did not have the support.

In the same development, Dr Mahathir said that for now there was no discussion on the big tent cooperation with any parties.

However, he said there were several political parties currently being looked at to see if they share similar principles as Pejuang.

Meanwhile, the Langkawi MP emphasised that Anwar has made a big mistake that led to the fall of Pakatan Harapan (PH) in 2020, causing Umno and BN to return to power.

“If it was not because of him, I would still be the prime minister today. Because when I resigned, the Agong wanted all 220 MPs to write down their choice. I thought PH would put down my name, because I was from the party.

"But then Anwar said he had a lot of supporters, and they gave Anwar 92 votes and I got 62, not from PH, but from other parties,” he said.

Dr Mahathir added that he would still be the prime minister if he had the 92 votes from PH, but in the end both of them lost.