KUALA LUMPUR – The upcoming Johor polls were planned by the “court cluster” and kleptocrats of Umno as a preparatory move to win the next general election, said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Dr Mahathir said the polls were triggered by Umno members who wanted to consolidate their position in some states beforehand, in order to win the 15th general election.
“The plan is that when they win the general election later, they can use their position to remove the cases of power abuse, and theft of money and people’s property,” the Langkawi MP said.
Dr Mahathir said this in an open letter to the voters of Johor which was posted on his official Facebook page today.
He said he realised that there were some voters who believed that the state polls on March 12 would not have any great consequence.
However, he said he believed the polls will have a great effect on the general election and should not be taken lightly.
“There are some voters who say that the court cluster and kleptocrats would not be contesting the Johor polls,” Dr Mahathir said.
“This is true but those who are contesting under the Umno and Barisan Nasional tickets will give strength to the court cluster and kleptocrats.”
Dr Mahathir reminded the people of Johor that they had rejected Umno and BN during the last general election in 2018 because Umno refused to take action by asking then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to step down and defended him instead.
He said due to Umno’s actions of defending kleptocrats, his newly formed party Pejuang will be contesting in the polls.
“I am sure that the voters of Johor will be with Pejuang to thwart their plans,” Dr Mahathir, who was recently discharged from the National Heart Institute, said.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir’s post garnered a swift response from Najib, who is facing a string of graft charges related to the infamous 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.
On Facebook, Najib sarcastically noted that Dr Mahathir has returned to his usual self in name-dropping the Pekan MP.
“This means he has truly recovered (from illness). Great!” Najib, who shared the letter on his page, said.
“May Allah grant the best of health to Tun Mahathir and may Allah bless him in all his dealings.” – The Vibes, February 15, 2022
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