Dr. M Wishes to be a PM for the Third Time and does not Consider Himself as a Minister Mentor

Last updated on May 6th, 2021 at 09:10 am

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who distinguishes himself as the prime minister of Malaysia twice, said today that he aspired to the role again rather than as an advisor since his past successors overlooked his advice in governing the world.

His understanding is, they would ignore him as he try to offer suggestions to the prime minister and they won’t hear his comments. Much like former prime ministers Datuk Seri Abdullah, Datuk Seri Najib, and now prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin.

He was talking to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who replaced him in 2003 and who Datuk Seri Najib Razak in effect replaced. Dr Mahathir eventually became seventh PM under the Pakatan Harapan ( PH) banner in 2018, but resigned some four months ago after the fall of the government and was succeeded by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Dr Mahathir said he wanted to be prime minister for the third time in order to right the suspected illegal activities under the Najib and Muhyiddin regimes according to Sin Chew Daily.

Dr Mahathir also told Sin Chew that if Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim became prime minister, he is not willing to accept the advisory role of “minister mentor,” noting that Malaysian PMs prefer to carve out their own legacy rather than listen to his advice. The prime minister needs to prove that he governs everything, all proposals come from him, that he needs to create his own political legacy, that he can’t say: Well, political legacy comes from Mahathir.

Malaysia never had a director for the ministers. The role had been established for the late Lee Kuan Yew in neighboring Singapore when his son Lee Hsien Loong became Minister in 2011. In an interview with Singapore-based Channel News Asia, Anwar had first floated the position of minister tutor.

Reportedly, Dr. Mahathir had claimed he wanted the PM role for a year, but Anwar did not like the notion, so he suggested halving it to six months. Dr Mahathir has been stated in an interview with Sin Chew stating that he would consider new means to overthrow the government of the Muhyiddin-led Perikatan Nasional (PN).

Dr. Mahathir indicated in the interview that he will also table a motion for a vote of no confidence in Muhyiddin as the prime minister when the Dewan Rakyat returns next month. If denied the opportunity to bring Parliament’s vote of no confidence, Dr. Mahathir reportedly said he intends to fail in Parliament’s tabling of the PN government’s budget.

The Dewan Rakyat is set to hold their second meeting for 25 days from July 13 to August 27, while the third conference of this year’s Dewan Rakyat is planned for 26 days from November 2 to December 15. On November 6, the Government is scheduled to deliver its speech on Budget 2021.