Kuala Lumpur: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
(pic) has today called for abuse of the law by the authorities to stop and come to an end, extolling instead a return for rule of law.
In his first posting of 2021 on his blog he wrote that no one should act above the law, no matter how exalted the person’s position is, and that the law is there to protect Malaysians, not used against them.
In his blog post, Dr Mahathir also shared stories or rumours of people being detained for no reason, after comparing Malaysia with issues other countries faced.
“In America a black man was throttled to death by a policeman kneeling with his knee on the neck of the unfortunate man. In France a black man was dragged and beaten by the police.
“But not here in Malaysia. We don’t see these kind of incidents. But there are rumours of people being detained for no reason,” he said.
He cited the case of former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and several of his friends who were arrested, detained for eight days and yet, no charges have been filed against them.
He also cited several other rumours of persons being detained for no actual reason, saying that powerful people have been pulling strings and seem to be above the law.
“This is Malaysia where we believe in the rule of law. These rumours seem to be contrary to the rule of law if they are true. These are frightening stories. I hope they are not true. I have no evidence to prove they are true. But the rumours keep circulating.
“They tell me not to say anything. It can hurt me. But this is not America. This is Malaysia. The Government must not allow these things to happen,” he said.
It is unsure what prompted today’s blog post. Dr Mahathir’s short-lived Pakatan Harapan government had emphasised the rule of law as one of its focus, but has now been replaced by Perikatan Nasional.
Meanwhile, Amanah Youth chief Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin has demanded Dr Mahathir to stop attacking Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Instead, the wing added that both the Parti Pejuang Tanah Air chairman and Anwar have to focus on strengthening the opposition, in order to make a “grand coalition” a reality.
“Amanah Youth would like to criticise the attitude of Dr Mahathir who repeatedly attacked Anwar, which was seen as only aggravating the situation.
“Realising the ‘grand coalition’ requires the agreement of all the Opposition leaders and peace between the two great figures Dr Mahathir and Anwar, for them to sit at the same table and negotiate,” he said in a statement.
Shazni said that Pejuang has to work with Pakatan Harapan in order to pave a new way for the Opposition.
“We therefore appeal to Dr Mahathir to stop the attack and accept Anwar’s offer to sit down and negotiate with Pakatan Harapan (PH) in formulating a new direction for the opposition,” he said.
The former prime minister alleged that Anwar has refused to work with him in any capacity while claiming that he was willing to work with PH. – Malay Mail
He said Anwar had also not agreed to let him or Shafie to become interim prime minister candidate for “six months” before giving up the power to the PH chief.
In an interview with China Press also published yesterday, Dr Mahathir also claimed that PH will not be able to garner Malay support in the next general election if the coalition refuses to cooperate with him.
Earlier this week, Anwar had stated that it is up to a consensus within Pakatan Harapan whether to work with Dr Mahathir again, but stressed any cooperation must be reform driven.
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