'Give me a bit of time to consider becoming the 9th PM candidate' - Shafie Apdal

Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal is willing to seriously consider a proposal to make him the ninth prime ministerial candidate.

He said the matter would be discussed with the party's leaders before giving a final answer in the near future.

"It is a big challenge for me and we have to look at it seriously. Give me a bit of time because we have a bit of problem in Sabah.

"(There are) a lot of considerations, nation-building has a lot of considerations, give me some time," he said in a press conference following a visit to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Datuk Peter Mojuntin here on Monday.

Earlier, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in a forum in the capital recently announced his willingness to nominate Mohd Shafie as the ninth prime ministerial candidate for Pakatan Harapan Plus (PH +).

The move was taken after he failed to reach an agreement with PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and considered Mohd Shafie as having the same goal of overthrowing the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

Commenting further, Mohd Shafie was grateful that the proposal came from the statesman and former prime minister and asked everyone to give him a bit of time.

"I am very thankful that this (proposal) came from Tun Mahathir, proposing me as the prime ministerial candidate, the proposal I must look into," he said.