Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamed’s call for foreign intervention to oust prime minister Najib Razak is treasonous, reminded an MCA leader.
MCA Religious Harmony Bureau chairperson Ti Lian Ker said Mahathir’s suggestion as reported in The Australian yesterday was “in bad taste and tantamount to treason”.
“It is very unfortunate that the former prime minister is going politically ‘berserk’.
“I believe that many, even amongst the opposition, will not agree to his latest antics of inviting foreign interference into our domestic affairs.
“There's no justification to invite foreign interference or to surrender our sovereignty and self-rule to a foreign nation,” said Ti in a statement today.
Mahathir has been on a warpath against his successor Najib, and has even joined forces with the opposition and civil society in the Citizens’ Declaration to call for the prime minister to step down over recent scandals.
Yesterday in an interview he was reported telling the Australian daily foreign intervention was the only avenue left to save the country as all other options had been exhausted.
'Dr M's meddling caused problems'
Ti called Mahathir’s call “political madness” and his claims about the state of Malaysia’s affairs “absolutely absurd”.
The MCA leader instead turned the guns at the long-reigning premier’s own political interference in the past that had cause problems for the country.
“In retrospect, the ‘ouster’ of our first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman who had led the nation on a secular path and championed a plural society path was a mistake.
“If I may add, we may have been better off had former prime ministers Hussein Onn or Abdullah Badawi be allowed to continue with their soft and moderate approach, instead of being ousted by Mahathir.
“Basically, Mahathir is now at his ugly best. He wants to dictate to the nation and if possible, the whole world.
“He's a paradox. He's a Machiavellian who believes that his ends justifies his means.
“He changes his rules, his arguments and is ever shifting the goal post at his own whims and fancy.
Ti denied claims the country is facing any political or institutional crisis today “unlike the days of Mahathir's authoritarian rule, whereby the judiciary was tampered with and deconstructed, and people were put behind bars through mass arrests and intimidation”.
Mahathir’s call, he said, is “an insult to our national pride and dignity and also an infringement into our sovereignty”.
“[…] we cannot allow him to invite foreigners to trample or ‘colonise’ our nation again,” said Ti.
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