Dr M predicts opposition leaders will be hauled up before GE14

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is often criticised over the mass arrests of opposition leaders and activists during his tenure, now predicts that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak would do the same.

Recalling the arrests of Bersih leaders ahead of a rally last year, Mahathir claimed that Najib would likely act to destroy the opposition and frighten the people when the general election is held.

“There are already signs of a build-up of the case for arresting and detaining opposition leaders.

“The arrest of the opposition leaders would leave the parties in disarray. Of course, it would anger the people but many may be intimidated and become too frightened to vote for the opposition.

“They believe Najib would find out and action would be taken against them. Without leaders, they would not know what to do. The voting for the opposition would be eroded,” he added.

During this “leaderless period”, Mahathir claimed that money would flow on an unprecedented scale and election workers would be bribed.

“Election workers and officials may misdirect the voters, and the voting would be manipulated.

“Many would not be able to vote at all. Postal votes would be hijacked and moved to increase the votes in the constituencies of the important BN candidates.

“The election would be so fraudulent that it would become almost meaningless. It would be a shame,” he added in a blog post.

Mahathir, who is now chairperson of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), also claimed that Malaysia has become a police state, where the rule of law is absent.

“Whether the instructions are against the laws of the country or not, the police have shown they are prepared to carry them out.

“They would arrest the leaders of the opposition knowing full well that these people have done no wrong.

“They would harass people, calling them in for questioning and threatening them. These things have been done and done with the consent of the IGP (inspector-general of police),” he added.

Mahathir urged Malaysians to vote against the prime minister even if opposition leaders are incarcerated.

“Malaysians! This is your country. You were born here. You grew up here. You led a good life here, earning a legitimate income from the work that you do, the services that you provide.

“Save this, your country, from being ravaged and pillaged...” he said.

In 1987, more than 100 people, including Mahathir's current allies in the opposition, were detained without trial under the defunct Internal Security Act (ISA) in an operation codenamed “Ops Lalang”.

Among those arrested was DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, who in 2006, accused the former premier of having “selective and faulty” memory over the incident.

This is after Mahathir claimed that he never arrested anyone for political reasons and had even told Lim then that the latter would not be arrested, but the police had done so.

Mahathir claimed he was powerless to stop the police from acting.- Mkini