KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders need to think and stay ahead of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad if they want to avoid a possible political crisis orchestrated by Perikatan Nasional (PN) under its new de facto leader.
Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak, who is former Sabah chief minister, in a Facebook post today said he believes that the PH leadership could anticipate, should the former prime minister make any move in the near future.
"Dr Mahathir is not a leader who makes a move without an endgame. He is known as a person who only moves when he can see and seize opportunities that are politically beneficial," said Salleh, who is a former federal minister and a past Sabah chief minister,
He said Dr Mahathir's move to become the de facto leader of PN was just the first step.
"Of course, Dr Mahathir does not have the time and patience to wait for the 16th General Election (GE16).
"Therefore, it is important for him to take steps in an organised manner and exploit the available opportunities as soon as possible."
On Thursday, Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar announced that all four PN-led states would set up a new faction, calling themselves "State Government four", or "SG4".
He said that state government leaders from Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis had agreed in principle to form the cooperation.
He had also ordered the Terengganu executive council to hold talks with their counterparts in the other three states.
Dr Mahathir, meanwhile, would be its unofficial adviser, focusing on effective and efficient governance.
The Pas vice-president said that Dr Mahathir's role was also to connect the four states with investors from countries like Japan and South Korea that have good ties with him.
Dr Mahathir had met with Pas leaders on Sept 2. The meeting included the menteris besar of the four states.