Najib: Dr Mahathir has gone overboard

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has crossed the line by joining forces with the very political enemies which he had fought for decades, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Taking to the stage at the Umno general assembly Thursday, the party president focused much of his attack on the Pakatan Harapan chairman.

"Speaking about Mahathir, back then... it was also on this stage that he reminded that the Malays easily forget, but to us this man has crossed the line.

"He has crossed the line when he was willing to join forces and align with his very own political enemies and enemies of his own principles for decades - just to fulfil a personal and family agenda," said Najib.

Najib said that regardless of race and ethnicity, the Government considers all 32 million of the country's population as the citizens of 1Malaysia. 

"Strangely, one former Umno president, who is now the main leader of an Opposition party, is still trapped in a colonial mindset, to the extent that he is willing to scorn people of Bugis ancestry," said Najib, in an apparent reference to Dr Mahathir.

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Dr Mahathir had allegedly said Malaysia has a leader who descended from “Bugis pirates”, at the “Love Malaysia, End Kleptocracy” rally on Oct 14.

The comment drew the ire of Bugis groups and the Selangor Sultan who responded with a stinging rebuke, calling for Dr Mahathir to be investigated for sedition.

Lamenting the slur, Najib said this was not what Umno is about as the party celebrates the ethnic diversity of the Malay stock.