KUALA LUMPUR: Parliamentary Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim admitted that Pakatan Harapan (PH) found the going tough in its 22 month government administration because it was led by a leader who was 'not a reformer' and was not interested in making changes.

The PKR president said such a situation could be seen within a few months after the pact began governing, with Malaysian politics returning to racial issues which were contrary to PH's struggle to defend the multi-racial people.

He explained that the matter could be seen through Dr Mahathir's action of holding a closed door meeting with several Malay ministers and leaders.

"It is true that the Pakatan Harapan government in its 22 months was not really ready, but the fundamental problem is because it was led by a person who is not a reformer.  

"And after a few months it was proven that he (Dr Mahathir) was part of a conspiracy to bring back racial issues including 'Kongres Kebangkitan Melayu'.

"We were trying to make changes, but it was difficult because the government leader at the time was not committed," he said.

The Port Dickson Member of Parliament said this in a press conference in Bangkok in conjunction with his working visit as the Opposition Leader to Thailand, recently.

Anwar, who is the PH chairman, explained that though he is fighting for the rights of the Malays, it did not mean that the rights of other races in Malaysia should be ignored.

He said the principle remains the same, which is that when the interests of the Malays need to be protected and defended, other races cannot be side-lined.

He said Dr Mahathir was once asked why he did not hand over power to him as promised. The former Prime Minister said Anwar was not qualified because he did not represent the party of the Malays but led various races.

"Dr Mahathir stated that only those who represented the Malay majority party were eligible to become Prime Minister and when I said my party included the Malay majority as members, it was unacceptable.

Asked about the chances of PH winning the 15th general Election, given that Dr Mahathir was no longer with the coalition, Anwar remained optimistic about their chances by considering the dispute in the ruling coalition involving Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia President Tan Sri Muhyiddin