INTERVIEW | Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should not be preoccupied with eradicating corruption but must also focus on improving the standard of living for Malaysians, said Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
The Bersatu deputy president pointed out this is part of the premier’s duties.
“As a Muslim, I believe that when you ask Allah, Allah will give.
“So he asked Allah for 20 years (to become the prime minister). Now you are the PM, you have the mandate. This is your responsibility,” he added.
Faizal said this in an interview with Malaysiakini when asked about Anwar’s performance since assuming the post of prime minister last November.
Conceding that tackling graft is important, the opposition politician who is better known as Peja, however, said it should not be at the expense of other efforts.
“What I see after six months (since Anwar became the prime minister) it is more about this and that person being corrupt. Everyone seems to be corrupt except him.
“If we arrest 80 ex-ministers and charge them daily, will it reduce food prices?” he asked.
Over the past months, several Bersatu leaders, including its president and former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, have also been hauled to court over corruption charges amid claims of political persecution.
Preferring to tell the prime minister about what needs to be done instead of rating his performance, Faizal felt the anti-corruption rhetoric is becoming tiresome.
“Let’s not rate but tell him. You are there (in power), let us raise the quality of life for Malaysians.
“Every day must talk about corruption until we feel lightheaded. Everyone can’t be corrupt, everyone can’t be giving bribes all the time,” he added.
Faizal also urged all politicians to stop politicking and to concentrate on the people instead.
Asked if this applied to politicians from Perikatan Nasional, the former Perak menteri besar answered in the affirmative.
“Definitely. All politicians, including myself.
“But I am talking now because you are asking (questions). Stop asking (questions),” he added with laughter.
‘Brilliant’ Rafizi no more
Faizal was also unimpressed with Rafizi Ramli’s performance as the minister of economy, saying that he regarded the latter as someone with a “brilliant mind.”
Apologising to the Pandan MP for his stinging appraisal, the Bersatu leader said he is perplexed over Rafizi’s purported lacklustre performance.
“I truly believe Rafizi has a brilliant mind but that was when he was an opposition leader.
“Suddenly, after becoming (part of) the government, I don’t know if he is being disturbed (kacau). Suddenly, I think he is a bit off-key. Sorry lah Rafizi… But I think you should improve, man,” he said.
Faizal shared that when he was in Pakatan Harapan with Rafizi, he would give his attention when Rafizi made a statement.
“But now when he speaks, we go ‘eh?’ (It’s) a bit off.
“Don’t know what you have been eating, brother. Change your diet or something,” he added.
Below are excerpts from the interview:
How do you rate Anwar’s performance as prime minister?
(After talking about the focus on corruption)… but we also see someone (Anwar) who was unemployed for 22 years coming out of Sungai Buloh (prison) and living in a big house. Where did that come from?
When he told (Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) he had boxes of evidence (about the former premier’s alleged corruption)... show it. But when we ask where he (Anwar) got the money from, no answer as well.
[Mahathir has slapped Anwar with a RM150 million defamation suit over this matter and the prime minister said he is prepared to face the nonagenarian in court.]
Anwar has declared his assets, RM11.2 million.
I don’t know. If RM11 million, the house I went to (in Petaling Jaya) before, not sure if he was renting or not. But if it is rented, I expect it to be about RM20,000 or RM30,000 a month.
If he purchased the house, it would be RM10-RM15 million. So where did you get that from? Okay, you have many friends. I want to know which friend ‘gave’ the house.
There was a challenge for Anwar’s critics to declare their assets too.
I think we all did (declare assets). When I was minister, I did. I declared to the prime minister and also to the public, on the MACC website.
[Faizal served as youth and sports minister under former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s tenure.]
Even if we can prove that Anwar is corrupt and Mahathir is also corrupt, what is the point? I am not saying it is okay, corruption is not good. But the focus should be on the rakyat, our livelihood… people are sad that their children are going to school hungry.
So what are your suggestions to address the cost of living issue?
There are too many things but if you don’t start anywhere, macam mana (how)? Let’s talk about eggs. We even fight over eggs. When I was a minister, we fought over chickens. These issues can be easily solved if we work together.
From schools to food security, we have problems. We have a lot of problems among the B40 group in urban areas. We can solve this if we work together, find ways (to help). We never want to start anywhere because we keep talking about politics.
Mahathir has been championing a pro-Malay proclamation that PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has signed. Are you a signatory of the proclamation?
I haven’t signed it yet. Our party’s decision is that it is not something that involves the party, it is a proclamation that talks about the problems faced by the Malays today as well as our children’s future in terms of education and what is needed for the race to progress.
We have given our members the option to support and sign the proclamation. Hadi signed it as an individual and not as PAS’ president.
But doesn’t this raise the perception to the grassroots that PAS supports Mahathir despite Hadi signing it in his personal capacity?
We are not supporting (Mahathir) we are supporting the struggle that is brought by the leader. Tun (Mahathir) has brought a proclamation for the Malays. If the Malays think that this is (a way) for us to unite, think about our issues, and how we can progress as a family, then we sign. If they don’t want to, there is no pressure.
Bersatu’s information chief (Razali Idris), Kuala Kangsar MP (Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid) as well as many division leaders and members have signed. InsyaAllah I too will sign it.
Is former Bersatu president Mahathir getting close to his former party once again?
Tun has never not been close to Bersatu. We have never been enemies with him, and perceive him to be an excellent statesperson that we really respect. He has provided so much for the Malays, to the country, to Islam. We hold him in high regard and always support his good efforts.
Will he be allowed back into Bersatu if he wishes to rejoin?
Firstly, he has never applied. But importantly, it is not about being a Bersatu member but about supporting the efforts that we (Bersatu) have done to unite the Malays to place Malaysia on a comparable level with other great countries in the world.
Bersatu is open to all Malays and non-Malays and we will surely accept them as long as they support the basis of our party’s struggle.
So Bersatu would be open if Mahathir wants to apply for a membership?
I will send and fill out his application form myself, all he has to do is sign it.
In December 2020 when you lost your vote of confidence in the state legislature, you told your former colleagues in Harapan: “I miss you guys sometimes actually, seriously.” Do you personally have regrets about leaving the coalition?
No regrets. Let’s look back into history. In Perak it was not Umno that tried to topple me (as Perak menteri besar), it was (Tebing Tinggi assemblyperson) Aziz Bari. That is a known fact. When PN suddenly took over as (federal) government, they called it a ‘tebuk atap’ (backdoor government).
When Aziz did it, it was with the permission of (DAP lawmaker) Nga Kor Ming. Aziz is Nga’s puppet.
Out of anger or vengeance, they (DAP) did not need to work with me, they didn’t need to work with Umno. Umno understood that if there was a confidence vote, DAP would not support it, and neither would Umno. Thus, I was toppled.
So who was the first to ‘tebuk atap’ after the 14th general election? It was them who started it (toppling governments), not the Sheraton Move.
But yes, I do miss them (former colleagues from Harapan). Some of my former colleagues in the exco really performed. I could see that they really championed women and environmental issues. I appreciate them and miss them.
In your opinion, was the Sheraton Move necessary?
Was there even a Sheraton move?
It was reported that there was.
See, the reporting was wrong. We met at Sheraton (Hotel) as there was some movement by DAP leaders to topple Tun (Mahathir) as prime minister, despite Tun mentioning many times that he would leave after Apec.
[The former prime minister said on several occasions that he would step down after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) in Kuala Lumpur in November 2020.]
But there were moves to topple him then, so we called our friends saying, ‘Look, if there is a move to topple the prime minister, Umno should come in and support him as the government should stay’. That was what the meeting was about.
The issue was reportedly about whether Mahathir would keep to his word and pass the baton to Anwar.
Why are we playing God and saying Mahathir won’t keep to his word? The facts were that he would resign after Apec, but people were attacking him before that. As such, my reaction was for me to defend my boss.
Do you think Mahathir would have kept his word to pass the reins to Anwar?
I believe so. He told me that many times himself. I asked him if he was sure, he said he promised and will deliver. I was very close to him back then.
So you don’t think Mahathir was trying to hold on to power?
He was in power for 23 years and resigned, yet you think he still wanted to hold on to power? He was doing things for the country and not for himself.
Do you think Mahathir is still doing things for the country today?
I think Tun is the type of person who will die for his country, yes. I truly believe that. And if I could have a quarter of his qualities, that would be enough. - Mkini
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