SO WHY DID NAJIB ABANDON ANWAR & THROW HIS SUPPORT BEHIND MAHATHIR IN 1998? NOW, NAJIB MOCKS ‘NONCHALANT’ DR M, RECALLS ANWAR’S ‘BLACK EYE’ & JAILING

Caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has mocked Dr Mahathir Mohamad for denying that he had jailed opposition leaders during his 22 years in power.

As usual, the BN chairperson did not mention the name of his Pakatan Harapan counterpart, referring to him, among others, as “that person”.

Najib said the former premier should accept responsibility for what transpired during his tenure instead of passing the buck to the police.

“During a press conference, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu was on his (Mahathir’s) right and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah was on his left.

“And he (Mahathir) ‘selamba jer‘ (nonchalantly) said he did not jail the opposition leaders,” he told a gathering in Balik Pulau, Penang, this afternoon.

Najib pointed out that Mohamad Sabu was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) while Wan Azizah’s husband, Anwar Ibrahim, was imprisoned with a black-eye.

“If the home minister does not give permission, it (the arrests) won’t happen. I know because I am prime minister,” he added.

Mahathir had claimed that he was not responsible for the jailing of opposition leaders because the decision was made by the police.

The former premier also blamed the police for Anwar’s incarceration.

However, former inspector-general of police Rahim Noor, who had assaulted Anwar during detention leaving him with a bruised eye, expressed puzzlement over Mahathir’s remarks.

In 1987, more than 100 people, including opposition leaders, were detained without trial under the ISA, which was repealed by Najib in 2011.

MKINI