A second purported audio recording of Bersatu’s final supreme council meeting on Feb 23 before it exited Pakatan Harapan has been leaked on a pro-Dr Mahathir Mohamad website.
In the recording, a man whose voice resembles that of the former premier’s is heard pleading with the council not to force him to renege on his promise to step down.
“Please do not force me. Please do not force me to do something that goes against my principles. I made a promise and I will fulfil it.
“I promised to step down, I will step down,” he added choked with emotion.
The man said if he is not allowed to resign, it would be his fault because the ultimate decision to do so or otherwise is his.
“No one can say ‘do not step down’. If I have made the decision to step down, I will do so,” he added.
Following his exit, the man said there would be a process to choose his successor and determine if the latter had the support.
At that point of time, if Harapan wanted him to return, the man said he would resume his duties as prime minister.
The man then said he would convey the same message to “those who supported (him) from opposition parties” .
“And with that, the plan to meet with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to say I have the majority support does not have to be carried out because I already have the support. I have not resigned.
“Sorry I am so emotional about it but I realise I do not have much time left,” he added.
Kadir Jasin: This is what Mahathir told the meeting
Quizzed if the recording was authentic, Bersatu supreme council member A Kadir Jasin told Malaysiakini that the contents are “similar to what (Mahathir) uttered” during the meeting.
Pressed further, the veteran newsman said he is not an expert in verifying the authenticity of audio recordings but insisted that it is “exactly what (Mahathir) said”.
“I will not say whether it (the audio recording) is authentic or not because that is too technical.
“But that is the voice of the prime minister and the contents of that audio recording are similar to what he uttered during the Feb 23 meeting.
“That is all I can say to you. I am not an expert in authenticating voices, you see.
“That is exactly what he said and it was after he said that, I stood up to speak (at the meeting) to say please respect the old man.
“He asked for time, he asked not to force him to renege on his promise and for him not to go against his principles,” he added.
Meanwhile, a source close to Mahathir, who is also the Bersatu chairperson, confirmed that the recording was authentic.
Malaysiakini has contacted several other Bersatu supreme council members regarding the audio recording.
In the first recording leaked on the same website, a man who sounded like Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin is heard telling the council to entrust Mahathir with the mandate to decide on whether or not to leave Harapan.
On the night of Feb 23, Muhyiddin and other Bersatu leaders had gathered with former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali’s faction as well as Umno and PAS at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya, in what has been dubbed as the “Sheraton Move”.
This triggered a week-long political crisis after Mahathir resigned as prime minister instead of going along with the Sheraton Move. It ended with Muhyiddin being sworn in as prime minister of a Perikatan Nasional coalition on March 2.
Mahathir has since publicly accused Muhyiddin and the latter’s followers of ignoring his wishes to remain in Harapan following a high-pressure Harapan presidential council meeting on Feb 21.
Sources told Malaysiakini that during the Feb 21 meet, Mahathir was pressured to set a date to step down for PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and Bersatu retorted with a threat to quit the coalition.
However, in the end, Harapan decided to let Mahathir decide when he would resign as prime minister.
MKINI
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