Anwar: “Agong Offered Wan Azizah to Become PM, But She Declined”

Just yesterday (16th May), Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (PKR) de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, was finally freed after being imprisoned for three years on a sodomy charge, a charge many believe was politically motivated.

Now that he’s a free man, Anwar Ibrahim has spoken to the press about his plans, but he also shared something that no one really knew went down on the day after the 14th general election on the 10th of May.

Source: anwar ibrahim | twitter

In an interview with the Malay Mail, he shared that Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was actually offered the position of Prime Minister by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. 

According to Anwar, this offer was made a day after the historic election, which saw Pakatan Harapan (PH) winning 113 parliamentary seats, beating Barisan Nasional (BN), who won 79, for the first time ever. Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) won 47 of those seats, making up the majority of seats won by PH.

He added,

“His Royal Highness offered Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail the prime ministership. His Majesty’s argument was that Wan Azizah is the president of PKR, which has the most MPs in Parliament.”

Source: the sun daily

However, the Deputy Prime Minister stood her ground and declined the offer, because it was already agreed by PH that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would become the prime minister if they won the election.

“His Majesty told me during our meeting today, ‘I am impressed with her (Dr Wan Azizah). She did not mince her words and said she only wanted her husband back safe.’ His Majesty told me to cherish her as it is very difficult to find such a (loyal and loving) wife,” Anwar continued.

As for the near future, Anwar has shared that he will be taking time off to travel and speak at a number of distinguished international universities like Harvard and Georgetown.

Safe travels, Datuk Seri! We can’t wait to have you back in action soon!

Also read: Anwar Won’t Return to Politics Immediately, Wants to Travel the World First