TUN Dr Mahathir Mohamad has appeared to distance himself from the so-called Dubai Move, alleged to be the latest attempt to change the federal government by influencing defections.
“Over the last few days there has been some excitement about the Dubai Move, and some have implicated me in what is said to be an effort to set up government through backdoor means.
“First of all, I have not been to Dubai in a long time,” he said in a posting on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The 98-year-old also took a swipe at the Unity Government over the matter.
He cynically said that a move to replace the government of the day using “backdoor” means is only permitted and legitimate if a certain party gets to have the prime minister’s seat.
He said that such “step-by-step” political efforts to form a “backdoor government” are “the speciality of the prime minister”.
Although Mahathir did not mention anyone by name, he was obviously referring to current prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"I'm sure many people still remember the move on September 16, 2008, to establish a backdoor government,” he said.
“In addition to that, there was the Kajang Move to promote the wife to become the mentri besar of Selangor.
"There was also the move based on 'I have the numbers' and the move of 'strong, formidable and convincing majority',” he added, quoting claims made by Anwar when he was heading the opposition in late 2020.
Mahathir stressed that all these moves were intended to replace the government via backdoor means.
"When these moves were being attempted, they were not considered to be treasonous, betraying, or (that they would) cause the government to become unstable, damage the economy or be in violation of democratic principles," he said.
Asked by reporters to respond to Mahathir's remarks, Anwar replied briefly, advising Mahathir to take care of his health.
"Tidak apalah (It is okay). Please look after your health," he was quoted as saying by New Straits Times at a higher education event in Kuala Lumpur today.
Last week, Community Communications Department (J-Kom) deputy director-general Datuk Ismail Yusop had claimed that certain Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders were behind the move while holidaying in the UAE.
He claimed that a meeting took place in the country’s main city of Dubai to discuss specific duties for 'officers' responsible for identifying MPs who can be influenced to shift support to the opposition.
He alleged that the conspiracy also involved influential veteran political figures with the rank of 'Tun' who were conspiring with the opposition by allegedly also using 'foreign sources' to overthrow the government led by Anwar.
In a dialogue session with senior editors on December 24, Anwar had stressed that any attempt to change the government would not be possible without support from Sarawak and Sabah.
He said that that the ruling parties in Sarawak and Sabah, respectively GPS and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GPS), and other components contributing to the Unity Government were solidly behind his administration.
He had also said that GPS leader Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg, who is the premier of Sarawak, told him the day before that there had been attempts to entice him to swing to the other side.
Johari had met Anwar at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya on December 23. He gave an assurance that GPS would not entertain any move to replace the current federal government. – The Vibes, January 5, 2024
