Dr M: I shall continue to speak the truth despite ruckus

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PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad remains undeterred in his desire to speak his mind on issues affecting the country following the violent disruption that occurred while he was fielding questions at the Nothing to Hide forum on Sunday.

The PPBM chairman said the party’s youth wing which organised the event needed to also continue its struggle and not be demoralised by the incident.

In a video interview uploaded on his Twitter account today, the 92-year old said challenges and difficult situations were bound to happen in politics, but one should not allow themselves to be disheartened by unpleasant events.

“We must continue our struggle for the good … that is the duty of the youth because they are the ones who shall inherit our nation. The old will go away, the young will take over,” he said.

He said the incident would not force him to stop speaking the truth.

“I will talk as I normally do. I am very frank. I will speak what I think to be right. I do not care how other people react.

“Truth must be voiced out. If not, evil will reign over our people because many are afraid to state the truth and they protect the evil,” he said, adding that such a society would eventually collapse.

The chaos at the Dewan Raja Muda Musa in Shah Alam began when lit flares with a pungent chemical odour were hurled, filling the hall with smoke.

Chairs were reportedly thrown and punches said to have been traded among those present as PPBM members rushed on to the stage to protect Mahathir, who is Pakatan Harapan chairman.

In a police report lodged that night, PPBM Youth information chief Ulya Aqamah Husamudin said he had seen a group of teenagers in “fake” t-shirts of the wing gathering outside the hall before the forum started.

“But we gave them a chance to enter (the hall), based on our open policy so everyone gets to pose their questions to Tun Mahathir,” he said.

The event went well for about one and a half hours, before some attendees threw bottles, slippers, and chairs in Mahathir’s direction, he added.

“It was clear that the provocation was initiated by the group clad in fake PPBM Youth t-shirts,” said Ulya.

Shah Alam district police chief Shafien Mamat said on Sunday that three suspects, aged 17 to 19 had been detained by the police to assist in their investigation, and that two were students at a local private college.

Reports yesterday said that the three teenagers were allegedly paid RM50 each to attend the forum as part of a group of youths who were believed to have been given the t-shirts.

They were remanded by the Shah Alam Magistrate’s Court yesterday for four days to facilitate investigations.