Muhyiddin Yassin is prime minister because he chose to work with Najib Abdul Razak over working with Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the latter claimed in a speech today.
“He chose Najib, he did not choose me,” said the ex-premier who went on to recount the events that led to the fall of the Pakatan Harapan administration.
“In the last general election, we all came together to defeat a kleptocratic government led by Najib. People were angry and we managed to defeat him.
“However, after being defeated he played the race issue. He claimed he was defending Malays who were being suppressed by the Chinese, specifically DAP.
At first, he got PAS and they worked together but that was not enough to form a government. They needed to take Bersatu members and leaders as well,” said Mahathir, who was speaking at a community event in Jitra, Kedah.
Mahathir and his wife Dr Siti Hasmah were hosted by Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir and wife Norzieta Zakaria.
The former premier repeated his claim that, ultimately, the Harapan government fell because other parties backed Anwar Ibrahim at a crucial moment, and Muhyiddin was willing to work with Najib and other Umno leaders facing corruption charges.
“They (Bersatu leaders) wanted me to reject Harapan, but why would I when Harapan backed me? We had a presidential council that backed me. I told Muhyiddin ‘one day, I will step down, then you do what you want to do’.
“But Muhyiddin said ‘it has to be now’. Muhyiddin didn’t want to wait. It has to be now – we exit Harapan and form a Malay government.
“Even working with PAS, I thought ok lah, but working with Umno, we had just defeated them and their kleptocratic government Working with Najib, the enemy, I was not willing to do.
“But Muhyiddin was willing to work with Najib, (Ahmad) Zahid Hamidi, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Azeez Abdul Rahim, Rosmah (Mansor) – how could I work with them? So many of them are still in the middle of corruption trials.
“Then, Harapan rejected me and put Anwar as the PM candidate. By the time they backed me again, it was too late. That’s why today’s PM is Muhyiddin Yassin,” said Mahathir.
He recounted the phrase “united we stand, divided we fall”, saying that, in the end, it was Muhyiddin who carried out the “divorce” within Bersatu.
“When a friend stabs your back, it hurts,” he added.
Mahathir went on to say that politics was not as important as two major challenges faced by Malaysia now – an economic decline and the Covid-19 outbreak.
“This is not the time for politics if we want to face these two challenges, we need to calm down,” he added.
Naive, greedy Bersatu leaders led to Feb 23 ‘betrayal’: Kadir Jasin
Political naivety coupled with high ambitions and greed among many Bersatu leadership council members have led to their betrayal of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, according to veteran scribe A Kadir Jasin.
In a blog post, Kadir said that Feb 23 – the day Bersatu leaders met with Mahathir (above, right) – will be remembered as a “day of betrayal, zeal for power and misguided strategy” by a majority of within their ranks who moved to support Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (above, left) and the new Perikatan Nasional pact.
“Mahathir’s plea during the meeting was simple: ‘Do not force me to go against my principle. Do not prevent me from fulfilling my promise.’
“But even that they (Bersatu leaders) ignored,” said the former media advisor to the government.
Kadir further claimed the leaders had ignored Mahathir’s attempts to explain that he retained support from Harapan parties to remain prime minister until the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit scheduled to be held in November.
Among others, he said the leaders had fallen for a narrative which primarily called for Bersatu to replace Umno as the biggest Malay-Bumiputera based party, and that it would never be able to achieve that goal if it remains in cooperation with Harapan-ally DAP.
Kadir also claimed the leaders were convinced that Bersatu must leave Harapan to “save Mahathir” from being insulted by PKR president Anwar Ibrahim’s supporters who wished to expedite the power transition process.
Following Muhyiddin’s appointment as prime minister, Kadir today said it has become increasingly clear that Mahathir was not lying or giving a false interpretation of the situation.
“After Bersatu left Harapan, has it become stronger and more respected? Are the Malays lining up to join the party?
“Is Umno, which was in ruins, now completely destroyed?” said Kadir who alluded to changes in state administrations which benefited Umno and resulted in losses for Bersatu.
In Johor for example, Kadir pointed out that Bersatu had lost the menteri besar post to Umno.
“Is that a sign of strength and success for Bersatu after leaving Harapan?
“Or is it actually the strategy of Muhyiddin and his supporters to return Johor to Umno?” he questioned.
Kadir said a similar trend could also be seen in Perak and Malacca, aside from the uncertainties surrounding Muhyiddin’s new cabinet line-up.
“It appears that Umno will always be Umno – hegemonic – and Bersatu will be like a bull pulled by its nose (the follower),” he said.
Mahathir had initially announced his resignation as Bersatu chairperson but later withdrew his move.
A group of party leaders including Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman had pledged support for Mahathir, although a larger number of leaders and lawmakers at federal and state levels are backing Muhyiddin and the new PN coalition.
MKINI
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