PETALING JAYA: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will be prime minister if the Opposition wins the next general election, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pic).

“At the moment we are not saying anything except that if the Opposition wins, the most likely prime minister will be Muhyiddin.

“But it depends on his party, whether they will elect him as president and depends on the coalition who should be the prime minister,” he said at a lecture in London last week.

However, the former prime minister said that there would not be a decision on the matter now as “some people will be disappointed and that will split the party”.

Dr Mahathir also spoke about the powers of the future prime minister should the Opposition win the 14th general election.

“The future prime minister will not have a free hand because in the new party (Pribumi), we have not only the president but also a chairman,” he said.

Dr Mahathir, who is Pribumi chairman, said the chairman of the party would need to be consulted on government matters to ensure that the prime minister does not make decisions by himself.

“Of course, he has a cabinet. But cabinet sometimes can be so obliged to the prime minister because he appoints them, (hence) they do not put up any resistance.

“The new party (Pribumi), we make sure the power of the president will be subjected to an agreement with a group of people within the party,” he said.-thestar