Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the Opposition in Malaysia, defended his continued cooperation and alliance with Mahathir Mohamad, the former Prime Minister.

In a Facebook Live session on May 14, Anwar said that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition must continue its agenda of reform, and therefore must accept the support of allies like Mahathir.

Joint statement against Muhyiddin

Anwar's remarks came after a controversial joint statement on May 9, in which both he and Mahathir declared that they do not recognise the government of Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin, who heads the current ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, assumed power after a number of Members of Parliament (MPs) quit the PH, thereby ousting Mahathir from the office of Prime Minister.

The statement came after a number of disparaging remarks made by Mahathir towards Anwar, including that Malay voters do not support him, and that he is "crazy" to become Prime Minister.

But Anwar defended his continued ties to Mahathir, and the statement. According to the Malay Mail:

"I signed it as the Opposition leader. The duty of the Opposition leader is not only to be the chairman of PH that compromises Keadilan (PKR), Amanah, DAP but all of the Opposition including the Bersatu faction under Tun Dr Mahathir and Warisan in Sabah. That is why I made the joint statement."

Anwar added that he understood the sentiment behind the criticism, but said it was his duty as the Opposition's leader to gather support, wherever he could.

Motion of no confidence in motion

Malaysia's Parliament, the Dewan Rakyat, convenes on May 18.

A motion of no confidence in Muhyiddin is expected to be tabled, to demonstrate that he does not command the support of a majority of MPs.

However, it is unclear which way the MPs will vote.

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Top image from Anwar Ibrahim's Facebook page.