Rais Yatim has suggested that Anwar Ibrahim replaces his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as deputy prime minister while Dr Mahathir Mohamad continues to helm the nation.

“Try this (combination) for two years. If compatible, finish one term,” he said in a Twitter posting this afternoon.

Following this, the former Umno minister, who is now a Bersatu member, said Anwar can take over the leadership reins.

Describing this as a “continuation of the 1997 recipe”, Rais also expected those in PKR to oppose his suggestion.

However, Rais believes this the best formula to ensure unity within the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

Apakata TunM dn DSAI GABUNG TENAGA semula? TunM teruskan jadi PM dan DSAI ambil tmpat Dr Wan Azizah. Cuba 2 tahun.Kalau serasi, habiskn sepenggal. Lepas tu DSAI nakhodai kapal baru. Sambung ramuan 1997
Rakan2 PKR mungkin tak setuju.Tapi ini trbaik utk serai serumpun sirih setepak

— RAISYATIM (@DrRaisYatim) September 19, 2018

Anwar's previous stint as Mahathir's number two did not bode well for the former deputy premier, who was given the marching orders on allegations of sexual misconduct in 1998.

This gave birth to the Reformasi movement after Anwar accused Mahathir of authoring a political conspiracy against him and sealing a conviction based on fabricated sodomy and abuse of power charges.

Prior to the last general election, the two political foes buried the hatchet with the understanding that if Pakatan Harapan wins federal power, Mahathir would serve as prime minister for two years before passing the baton to Anwar.

Since then, Mahathir has repeatedly indicated that he might take longer than the stipulated timeframe, and this fueled speculation of a possible repeat of the 1998 fallout.

Anwar is set to make a return to Parliament after a three-year hiatus via the Port Dickson by-election.

The Election Commission is expected to announce the date for the by-election tomorrow.