DR M: KU LI BEHIND FAILED ANTI-NAJIB VOTE

Mahathir says Razaleigh came to him about confidence motion but ‘didn’t do anything’ to secure a majority

(FMT) – Dr Mahathir Mohamad has fingered Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as the person behind last year’s attempt to oust Najib Razak through a confidence motion in Parliament.

In a surprising turnaround, Dr Mahathir told reporters today that it was Tengku Razaleigh, MP for Gua Musang, who had approached him with the idea of a parliamentary vote of no confidence, and had been confident of success.

However, he failed to secure enough support for the confidence motion. “He didn’t do anything, he just asked someone else to do things for him,” Dr Mahathir said. “He ordered me to meet with the people of Sarawak, and I did. I followed orders.”

Dr Mahathir’s statement appeared to be in retaliation for Tengku Razaleigh declaring his support for Najib on Thursday, with other members of Kelantan Umno.

“He was the one who suggested for Najib to be removed, but now he goes and supports the prime minister,” Dr Mahathir said.

Dr Mahathir had long been seen as the mastermind of the year-long campaign against Najib, and he has been at the forefront of criticisms against Najib’s brainchild, 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Earlier this month, Dr Mahathir had launched the Citizens’ Declaration calling for Najib’s ouster, signed by 45 mainly opposition politicians and his supporters.

Tengku Razaleigh had initially been named as one of the signatories, but later denied being there or of being a signatory.

Dr Mahathir accused Tengku Razaleigh of having betrayed him “many times.”

He pointed out that when Tengku Razaleigh had lost an Umno election in 1987, he had sued the party “and as a result, it was declared illegal. I had to spend time to rebuild the party from scratch while he went and formed another party. What do you expect from a person like that?”