KUALA LUMPUR: Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has questioned Pakatan Harapan’s decision to name Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as its prime ministerial candidate, and its promise to bring about political reform in the country.
Speaking to the media, Nazri said that he had expected the opposition coalition to nominate a “fresh face” as its prime ministerial candidate, instead of the 92-year-old former premier.
“I would have expected them to name someone like (Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri) Azmin Ali. Now that’s a fresh face. They had the opportunity to do this, but they didn’t.
“What future will (nominating Dr Mahathir as premier) bring to our country? What (kind of) reform (can you bring about) when you nominate a 92-year-old man?” he asked.
During the Pakatan convention on Sunday, the pact named Dr Mahathir as its prime ministerial candidate, while PKR President Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was nominated as his deputy.
Pakatan’s secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said that under an agreement between the pact members, Dr Mahathir must give way to jailed de facto Pakatan leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to take over as soon as the new government obtains a royal pardon for him.
Describing the decision as “a joke,” Nazri also said that the move was ridiculous, stupid and regressive.
“In Zimbabwe, they kicked out their 93-year-old president (Robert Mugabe). But an advanced country like Malaysia is (fielding) a 92-year-old man to be the next prime minister," he added.
Meanwhile, MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong took a swipe at the opposition and sarcastically congratulated Pakatan for "recycling" a former prime minister of 22 years to be their prime ministerial candidate.
"Picking Dr Mahathir as PM shows that they have no other candidate to choose from, and I would like to congratulate them for reusing the former PM as their choice of new PM.
"This is like a soap opera. I remember when Dr Mahathir sent Anwar Ibrahim to jail. Nothing can change history.
"So, after 20 years of the 'Reformasi' movement, now they want to make Dr Mahathir prime minister again," he said.
Wee said the move shows that Pakatan is a coalition that has no principles, adding that the Barisan Nasional component party, in contrast, would work for the rakyat.