Opposition turning on each other, PM's aide says of chaotic forum

Prime minister's press secretary Tengku Sarifuddin Tengku Ahmad has painted the violence at the "Nothing to Hide 2" function yesterday as a case of opposition supporters turning on each other rather than agent provocateurs trying to disrupt the function as claimed by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) which organised it.

"The reality is that opposition supporters present were upset with (Bersatu chairperson) Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s inability to answer questions at the forum on scandals during his rule, such as his jailing of (PKR de facto leader) Anwar Ibrahim and the Memali killings.

"The ‘Nothing to Hide 2’ forum instead became an ‘Everything to Hide’ forum," Tengku Sarifuddin said in a statement today.

He added that Bersatu was "entirely responsible" for the event.

"So to blame the pandemonium on Umno is an attempt by the opposition to cover up the shameless action of its own members," he said.

Yesterday, unidentified individuals hurled slippers, bottles, chairs and flares at the direction of Mahathir while he was speaking at the Shah Alam event.

Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman later claimed that agent provocateurs had acquired the wing's T-shirts to slip into the event with the intention to hurt Mahathir.

Several opposition figures, including PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang have accused Umno of having a hand in orchestrating the attack.

But Tengku Sarifuddin stressed that this was not the case.

"The wild allegations blaming Umno by Azmin and other Pakatan leaders are false, reckless and unbecoming.

"As everyone knows, and as became clear at the event, Pakatan Harapan is fundamentally divided.

"What else could be expected from a coalition that has been cobbled together as a marriage of convenience by former enemies who did everything to destroy each other for decades," he said.

Tengku Sarifuddin said the accusations against Umno were to divert attention from Bersatu's "disintegration" and showed the opposition's reliance on "creating hate and anger" against the government.

"If Harapan is unable to even organise its own forums without chaos, we can only imagine what they would do to Malaysia.

"It is clear that it would be a disaster for the country if the DAP-led opposition assumed power at the next general election," he said.

Tengku Sarifuddin stressed that under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's leadership, the government will continue to focus on the economic welfare, social well-being and security of all Malaysians. - Mkini