Malaysian former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad doubts that Malaysia's de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim could be the next prime minister despite winning the by-election on Tuesday, the national news agency Bernama reported on Wednesday.
The former prime minister believes that Anwar will not be able to get at least 30 Members of Parliament from the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional to cross over to the opposition to form a simple-majority government.
"He (Anwar) may think that he can buy them but other bidders may have more money," Mahathir said at Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya, the administrative center of Malaysia on Wednesday.
Mahathir was asked to comment on Anwar's return to Parliament after defeating BN candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah with a majority of 15,671 votes in the by-election.
The government should take note of the message sent by the voters this time, five months after the general election, he said.
Mahathir said he was afraid that the decreasing BN popularity within five months after the general election occurred not only in the by-election but was a trend in other constituencies as well.
He reiterated his call for his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down following this decline.
Source: Xinhua
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