SHAH ALAM (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Anwar Ibrahim said on Sunday (Nov 24) that he has no intention of accepting a Cabinet position in the event of a reshuffle.
The Port Dickson MP said he had never offered to be a Cabinet member before becoming the next prime minister.
"I have no such intention," he told reporters after launching the Reformist Convention 2019.
He was asked to comment on whether he was interested to join the Cabinet before moving up as Malaysia's eighth PM.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said that a Cabinet reshuffle will be conducted.
Earlier in his speech, Datuk Seri Anwar urged all parties to be patient and not to raise the issue of the transition plan between him and Tun Dr Mahathir.
"We need to give space to Dr Mahathir so that the process can take place peacefully. If it happens smoothly, it will be easier for Dr Mahathir to continue with his work and easier for me after the handover," he added.
Mr Anwar reiterated that only the Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council could decide on who would take over as the next prime minister.
He reminded party members that the reform agenda had yet to be completed since their win in the 14th General Election.
He said such reforms would only be complete once the correct agenda was implemented, such as action to protect the interests of the low-income group and improving their livelihood.
Mr Anwar urged party members, especially veteran reformists, to be patient for him to take over as the country's leader, pointing out that patience was essential for the transition to be orderly.
He said the transition issue was discussed at the presidential council meeting last Saturday, adding that there was no backtracking on him taking over as prime minister.
"The leadership will ascertain when the transition will take place," he said.
Later, when asked about PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's remarks that someone had a meeting with the Islamist party in a bid to form a backdoor government, Mr Anwar said he also heard that recently.
"We are committed to Tun Mahathir, to me, to everybody, to the Pakatan coalition and we will not entertain any other move," he added.
At the close of the convention, veteran reformists released a resolution read by convention chairman, Ijok assemblyman Idris Ahmad, setting a time frame for Mr Anwar to take over the nation's reins.
"We want the date to be set when Anwar becomes prime minister and the date must not be later than May 10, 2020," he said.
