Bersatu chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad, having been formallly made Pakatan Harapan's prime ministerial candidate, can now put a bruising chapter behind and set his eyes on galvanising the opposition coalition.

The coalition had spent more than a month trying to trash out differences on whether Mahathir should be named the prime ministerial candidate, an idea first floated during its two-day retreat in Putrajaya on Dec 1 and 2.

Since then, contradicting statements have been issued, with strong opinions expressed by civil society figures and even intense lobbying against the proposal.

Bersatu, DAP and Amanah were prepared to accept Mahathir as the prime ministerial candidate, seeing him as the best opportunity to capture the hearts and minds of the Malay heartland that has been instrumental in BN's undisrupted hold on power.

But for PKR, a party born out of trying to unseat Mahathir when he was prime minister, it was a tough decision to accept...