PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar has confirmed that Pakatan Harapan will hold a special meeting to discuss the future of the coalition, including choosing potential candidates for the prime minister’s post.

Her confirmation came as she was quoted by Malay daily Sinar Harian yesterday that the Pakatan Harapan leadership was expected to announce the candidate for prime minister after the discussion.

“I stated the prime minister-designate has to be committed to the reform agenda – the agenda should be the focus.

“Insinuations aside, we are sticking to our collective decision and you know the name of the incarcerated personality,” she told Malaysiakini.

The apex court on Wednesday dismissed Anwar's review of the Sodomy II conviction and sentence.

As such, Anwar is expected to remain behind bars until mid-2018.

Meanwhile, commenting on the apex court’s decision, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang also confirmed that Pakatan Harapan’s decision of Anwar as the prime minister-designate when it wins the general election remains unchanged.

He, however, admitted that the coalition needed an interim prime minister until Anwar was released from jail.

And Anwar, he pointed out, would not be the first person to take such a journey from jail “to the highest political office in the land in mankind’s struggle for greater freedom and justice for the human race”.

“As (Parti Amanah Negara president) Mohamad Sabu mentioned just now, (opposition leader) Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will be a good candidate for interim prime minister.

“I will add that with the agreement reached by Pakatan Harapan and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia on Tuesday for an electoral pact to defeat Umno/BN in the next general election, Muhyiddin Yassin will be a good candidate for the post of interim deputy prime minister,” Lim said in his speech at a dinner held in Bukit Gelugor last night.

A survey by Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) found that Malays favour Dr Mahathir Mohamad making a comeback as prime minister, compared with Anwar and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

According to the survey conducted from Aug 26 to early September, 29 percent of Malays want Mahathir as prime minister while Anwar and Hadi tied for the second spot, with both receiving 25 percent respectively.

Muhyiddin came in third among Malays at 13 percent, while Lim came in a distant fourth at one percent.

However, when all races were taken into account, Anwar was still the top choice.