PETALING JAYA – With 47 court charges looming over Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s shoulders like a sword of Damocles, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called into question the former’s credibility as Umno president.
In a press conference at the Albukhary Foundation today, Dr Mahathir joined a growing chorus of calls asking Zahid to step down, following the party’s poor showing at the recently concluded six-state elections.
The longest-serving former Umno president was asked if he had any advice for Zahid to which he replied, “Resign lah”.
“He is not qualified at all. He has 47 charges against him,” Dr Mahathir said, expressing hope that there would be no outside influences that will attempt to save him.
When he touched on Umno, Dr Mahathir said Umno is now a far cry from the once-unassailable party that it used to be.
“When there are leaders that do not prioritise Umno's struggles, instead prioritising what leaders can get, ‘cash is king’...it spoils Umno. From then, we can see Umno deteriorating,” he said.
Umno, said Dr Mahathir, is now mocked even by its own members.
“Those who don’t agree with the leaders are removed…this isn’t the Umno that was built back then; this is an Umno that has been hijacked.”
Press freedom stifled?
Dr Mahathir also lamented that there is no press freedom in Malaysia right now and that everything is being controlled.
He claimed that a “press officer” who wrote reports that did not side with the government was asked to resign, removed from their position and “instructed to no longer be in the press”.
Dr Mahathir, however, did not provide the name of this “press officer” or which organisation they were from.
“...There is no press freedom in Malaysia today. And everything is controlled by the government.
“I am of the opinion that the world needs to know the kind of government we have in Malaysia today, because we talk about democracy, but as usual, what is said and what is done are different,”he claimed.
‘It’s constitutional’
In the early part of his press conference, Dr Mahathir talked about police calling him up to give a statement on a Facebook post he made in July.
He claimed there were “double standards” in the investigation, and alleged that the government is inconsistent in implementing the country’s laws.
Dr Mahathir said the Facebook post in question was based on the federal constitution, which he claimed states that Malaysia is “Tanah Melayu” (Malay soil).
“So when I talk about ‘Tanah Melayu’, apparently this is racist, (and that) I cannot talk about the (federal) constitution,” he said.
Dr Mahathir added that police had asked him why he said so, to which he replied that he would answer in court if charged.
The Facebook post in question was made on July 27, titled Malaysia is a Malay country. – The Vibes, August 18, 2023
