Am I a thief too? Mahathir takes on Coke vs Pepsi argument

Political cynics have sometimes compared the choice between BN and Pakatan Harapan to choosing between Pepsi and Coke, implying that there is little difference between the two coalitions.

Addressing the criticism, Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad urged his critics to study whether he is really a crook, or merely a case of guilt by association.

“Things are not static; it changes with the passage of time. Sometimes from good to bad, and sometimes from bad to good. If we only see that things are bad now, we shouldn’t think things are as bad before.

“If all the prime ministers are crooks, why change? Study first, are all prime ministers crooks? Was Tunku Abdul Rahman a crook? Was Abdul Razak Hussein a crook? Was Hussein Onn a crook? Was Mahathir a crook too?

“Some people tell me that Najib (Abdul Razak) misappropriated money. They said the prime minister did that, so I must have done that too. So I ended up being on the receiving end of that perception,” he told a forum in Putrajaya today.

The forum on the economy was organised by the group Aksi Muda, and was aimed at the youth audience.

For the record, Najib had denied wrongdoing in the 1MDB matter or taking public funds for personal gain.

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali had also cleared Najib of any misconduct.  -Mkini