GE15: Exercise your rights for a cleaner govt - Dr M

SHAH ALAM – The Malay political party Umno has been established in Malaysia for more than 70 years and has introduced many prominent political leaders, including former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The two-time prime minister, first under the Barisan Nasional’s administration and second under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, did not deny that Dr Mahathir was a respected politician who debuted under Umno.

He spent many years under the party and was involved in numerous changes within the party.

During an exclusive interview with Sinar Daily in the latest episode of Fireside Chat, Dr Mahathir shared his view on how he saw Umno in the present time compared to the time it was before.

“The leaders of Umno after me know very well that they are not above the law.

“If they do something wrong, eventually, the law will catch up with them.

“They believe they can postpone or avoid being charged in court when they are in power and because of this, they believe that by using a lot of stolen money, they can ensure they will win all the time.

“So if they win all the time, they will not face charges in court,” he said.

Nevertheless, the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) chairman further explained their belief was wrong as many others rejected the idea of ‘cash is king’ as they claimed.

Hence, that led to Umno and Barisan Nasional’s defeat in the 14th General Election (GE14).

With the loss in the 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018, which saw Malaysia being freed from the grip of Umno-BN, the politicians lost the authority or power to stop the criminal proceedings that were held against them.

During their governance, even the Attorney-General was allegedly replaced to ensure that the individual worked according to their favour.

Dr Mahathir said that was what happened when Tan Sri Apandi Ali took over the position from Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail.

“He, without due diligence and without proper investigation, decided that Najib was not guilty.

“They thought that would end all action against Najib because he was going to win the next election and still be the prime minister, but it turns out they lost the election and a new AG had to be appointed,” he said.

What happened later was that three courts and nine judges concluded the former prime minister was guilty and Apandi was also guilty of covering up.

He said this was why it was important for registered voters to go out and vote to exercise their rights.

Dr Mahathir said in the election, one vote and one seat majority would pave a victory for the political party hence automatic voters need to know they have the power.

“The automatic voters know they have power and must use their power to vote wisely for what they want.

“Do they want this country to be governed by people who were being charged with crime, some already in jail or do they want the county to be run by a government that is free from crimes that have not abused their power,” he further said.