Dr M first PM to meddle with judiciary, says former CJ

GE14 | Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the first prime minister to interfere in the promotion of judges, according to former chief justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad.

He said this in response to the Pakatan Harapan chairperson's pledge to reform the judiciary if the opposition coalition wins Putrajaya in Wednesday's general election.

“What happened to justices Mohd Azmi Kamaruddin and Harun Hasim?

“On what basis did (former chief justice) Eusoff Chin and Annuar Zainal Abidin leapfrog over them?” he asked in a blog posting.

Abdul Hamid also pointed out the sacking of former lord president Salleh Abas.

“Now, he (Mahathir) is saying he would do it again (interfere with the judiciary) if he becomes prime minister again. In this matter, he is consistent,” he added.

Abdul Hamid also noted that Mahathir has made numerous 180 degree turns of late.

“In the past, he sacked Anwar Ibrahim. Now, he kneels before him and uses the PKR logo to fight Umno. Who is riding on who would be revealed later.

“In the past, he criticised DAP and Lim Kit Siang. Now they are comrades to the point DAP is willing to discard its 'rocket' logo. Once again, it would be revealed who is riding who,” he added.

Abdul Hamid said DAP wanted to halve the number of civil servants and now, Mahathir has echoed a similar stand.

“Has he (Mahathir) forgotten that the increase (in the civil service) occurred during his more than two-decades-long administration?

“Does he not realise that hundreds of thousands who would lose their jobs and become unemployed are Malays? If the police and armed forces are included, millions of Malays would be unemployed.

“Even at this point, we can see who is riding who,” he added.

Abdul Hamid also recalled the previous feud between Mahathir and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, who are now allies.

He said Mahathir's current language and choice of words gave the impression that Mohamad is now his mentor.

“They are similar to the words that come out from Mat Sabu's (Mohamad) mouth. It's just that Mat Sabu shouts but Mahathir does not.

“Even if he (Mahathir) wanted to shout, he lacks the energy to do so and his health would not permit it as well,” he added. - Mkini