By Dayang Suhana
KUCHING, April 3, 2015. - Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak
(Teras) president Tan Sri William Mawan said it has become a hobby for former
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to relentlessly attack incumbent Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on social media.
"There is nothing we can do to stop the attack
because we believe in democratic rights, though I may detest it," he told
reporters after receiving a courtesy call from BN members from Saratok at Teras
headquarters here today.
 |
| Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom (right) with Captain Zainuddin Hamdan at the press conference |
He added:" We can't stop people from exercising
their rights, but we have to look whether it is constructive or destructive
criticism.
"If it is constructive criticism, then there is a proper
channel for them to do so, not through the social media or blogs," Mawan, who is also the Social
Development Minister, said, adding that he is suspicious of the continued attacks
against Najib.
He said on the surface the attacks by Dr Mahathir
appeared to be an internal Umno affairs, but on a closer look, it is not.
"You can judge whether Dr Mahathir has grudges
against Najib because some of the things that the former prime minister said
were rather personal in nature," he said.
Mawan believes that Najib still has the majority of the
people to run the country.
"Some people, including those from Umno may not
agree with me, but he has done a good job.
"He has a short and long terms plans for the
country, including Sarawak.
"As a Member of Parliament, I should know because I
have attended many development briefings. I know what he has been doing. Some
of the plans may not produce immediate results, they will in the long
terms," he said.
Mawan does not think that the BN will lose in the next
polls, considering that the State BN is strong and will continue to deliver parliamentary
seats.
In his latest attack, Dr Mahathir said the Barisan
Nasional (BN) would lose in the next general election if Najib remains as prime
minister.
In his harshest criticism against Najib, he charged that
Malaysians do not trust the prime minister and predicting that the ruling Barisan
Nasional (BN) will lose the next polls if the Umno president remains in power.
Malaysia's longest serving prime minister had already
withdrawn his support for Najib last year over policy differences and had said
the prime minister should resign.
"Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians or the
people in Sabah and Sarawak no longer trust i Najib. Umno members and their
leaders must realise that Umno and with it, BN will lose if he leads Umno to
GE14.
"When Umno loses, the Malays will curse the
leadership which has made the party so weak until it is rejected by the Malays
themselves.
"Once Umno loses, it cannot be rehabilitated anymore,"
Dr Mahathir wrote in his popular blog chedet.cc yesterday.
In the lengthy post, the former prime minister listed
down various allegations made against Najib and noted that none of them had
been adequately answered.
Dr Mahathir said these included the murder of Mongolian
interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu and the claims made by one of her convicted
murderers, former commando Sirul Azhar Umar, who was a former bodyguard of
Najib's.
Noting Sirul's claim that he had been "under
orders" to kill Altantuya, Dr Mahathir said such an allegation ought to be
investigated because Sirul had worked for Najib.
"This is a human life. It would be cruel if Sirul
was subjected to the death penalty for carrying out instructions," he
wrote.
Dr Mahathir also delved into the problems surrounding
Finance Ministry-owned 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), questioning the need
for Putrajaya to give it a standby credit facility of almost RM1billion, the
fund's purchase of government land and its dubious deal with little-known oil
company, PetroSaudi International.
He then questioned the source of fund for Najib's stepson
Riza Aziz to purchase luxury properties in New York through businessman Low
Taek Jho.
He also did not spare mention of the new private jet
purchased for Najib, describing it as a "waste" since the government
already had other jets to use.
"There are many other allegations and questions
against 1MDB that was set up by Datuk Seri Najib and which is controlled by him
as adviser that have not been answered, other than to deny and call the
allegations lies.
"The reports in New York and London newspapers are
extremely embarrassing for the country," Dr Mahathir added, referring to
foreign media reports on 1MDB and Low.
The country's longest-serving prime minister said it
pained him to reveal this.
"Many loyal members and Umno leaders will blindly
follow the leadership. I am also loyal but my loyalty is to the party and the
Malays that it represents.
"It is not easy for me to write this blog post. But
for the sake of the race and the country I have to expose all this.
"I am not yet senile even though I am nearing 90
years of age. Whoever says I am senile are fooling themselves," Dr
Mahathir concluded.
No comments:
Post a Comment