- the cancelling of his Crooked Bridge.
- the selling off of MV Agusta. The reason given for selling off MV Agusta is that if they don’t sell it then the government would have to pump in another RM300 million to keep it afloat, on top of the RM300 million they already paid to buy the company. But for Mahathir, RM600 million is considered still cheap and a good buy for what they were getting -- a motorcycle company that makes good motorcycles and has the technology to make small motorcars. He feels someone did a scam and made big bucks by selling MV Agusta. he suspects that that person is Khairy Jamaluddin.
- the Oil-for-Food scandal. This is another thing that Tun Dr Mahathir feels is an issue that should not be allowed to be swept under the carpet. The Oil-for-Food scandal has already been reported by the UN Committee and US Congress and the report has been published so you really do not need any fresh investigation. The name of ‘Abdullah Badawi’ is mentioned in those two reports as the beneficiary of the Iraq oil quota and there is even bribery involved.
Tun Dr Mahathir’s father was born in India.
90% of the tax is paid by the non-Malays and 10% by the Malays, says Tun Dr Mahathir.
But 10% of the scholarships must go to the non-Malays and 90% to the Malays. And when they propose to change this to 40% for the non-Malays and 60% for the Malays, the Malays raise a hue and cry.
When asked, after he had retired on 1 November 2003, what was his greatest regret; Tun Dr Mahathir replied that his greatest regret is not being able to change the Malays in the 22 years that he was Prime Minister of Malaysia. Tun Dr Mahathir once lamented: why can’t the Malays be more like the Chinese?
19 May 2008 - Mahathir announced the resignation (from UMNO) three days after the government ordered the Attorney-General (Peguam Negara) to investigate him and five others over the appointment of judges while he was in power.
Keputusan itu dumumkan seminggu selepas Dr. Mahathir mengadakan pertemuan tertutup dengan Timbalan Presiden Umno, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak di Putrajaya.
Dr. Mahathir mempunyai nombor keadlian '01' dalam Umno
Dr. Mahathir pernah dipecat pada 1969 selepas beliau menulis surat terbuka kepada Tunku Abdul Rahman mengkritik kepimpinannya ekoran pilihan raya umum tahun itu dan Peristiwa 13 Mei.
Beliau diterima semula ke dalam Umno pada 1972 ketika kepimpinan Tun Abdul Razak.
Dr. Mahathir yang menyertai Umno pada 1946 dipilih sebagai Presiden Umno pada tahun 1981
bekas Perdana Menteri itu mendakwa Umno kini hanyalah dijadikan parti untuk mengiktiraf Abdullah sebagai Presiden Umno dan mengutamakan kepentingan keluarganya (Abdullah) sehingga membelakangkan negara. - Malaysia Today
The Sun
PETALING JAYA (April 1, 2008): This is a letter by lawyer Param Cumaraswamy who was a United Nations Special Rapporteur on Independent Judges and Lawyers.
I read with interest, though much to my amusement, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s letter (theSun, March 28). The former prime minister, among others, referred to lack of public faith in domestic enforcement agencies and called for credible foreign agencies “to carry out investigations here to clear the name of the government”. He even volunteered to subject himself to investigation by foreign agencies for any misdeeds by him during his 22 years premiership.
There is one alleged misdeed of Mahathir which needs investigation. In 1998 Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was investigated for interference with police investigations. He was charged with corruption under Section 2(1) of the (Emergency Powers) Ordinance 1970 for the alleged interference. He was found guilty and sentenced to six years imprisonment.
During Anwar’s second trial in June 2000 before Justice Arifin Jaka, the then director of the Anti-Corruption Agency, Datuk Shafee Yahya, gave sworn testimony. In the course of his testimony Shafee was asked about an investigation the ACA earlier carried out on the then director-general of the Economic Planning Unit (Unit Perancang Ekonomi). The transcript of the notes recorded by the judge of this part of the testimony reads as follows:
Counsel: Adakah Datuk menggeledah pejabat Ketua Pengarah EPU di Jabatan Perdana Mentri?
Witness: Ada.
Counsel: Was a big sum of money found in the drawer of the Pengarah EPU for which he could not explain?
Court: What is the relevancy? No need to answer.
Counsel: Did Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim direct you to raid the office of the Ketua Pengarah EPU?
Witness: Tidak.
Counsel: Did Datuk Seri Anwar ask you to close the case against the director?
Witness: No.
Counsel: Did anyone ask you to close the case?
Witness: Yes, the Prime Minister did.
Counsel: Narrate the circumstances under which the PM asked you to close the investigation.
Counsel: Were you called up by the PM?
Witness: Yes. I was told off, "How dare you raid my senior officer’s office?" I was taken aback and I replied. "This was based on official complain (sic) by an aggrieved party." I did what was officially required under the law. He accused me of trying to fix the former D-G of EPU. I replied that is totally wrong because it is wrong in law to fix anybody. As a Muslim it is a big sin to fix anybody. He asked me, "Did Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ask you to raid the office?” I said, “no”. It was based on an official complain and to be fair to Datuk Seri Anwar when I mentioned the complain against the EPU Chief. I inform Datuk Seri Anwar of my intention to raid but he said, "Have you cleared this with the PM?" I said, "I mentioned this to PM, the PM kept quite (sic).”
Counsel: What was the tone of PM when he asked you whether Datuk Seri Anwar asked you to raid. Was it in an angry tone or normal conversation tone?
Witness: The tone was rather accusatory.
Counsel: The EPU was directly under the PM’s Department.
Court: No more questions on the investigation on the EPU Chief. I am not satisfied of the relevancy of such evidence.
Counsel: Was the EPU responsible for awarding privatisation of projects.
Witness: As far as I know it is.
Counsel: After you were scolded by the PM did you inform anybody about this?
Witness: I informed the Chief Secretary to the Government.
Counsel: What was your reaction when the PM scolded you and told you to close the case against the D-G of EPU?
Witness: I was highly dissolution (sic) and when I went home I told my wife I wanted to resign. But in view that I have two or three months to finish my extension – my wife persuaded me not to resign.
Counsel: Why did you feel dissolution (sic) decide to resign?
Witness: In my whole carrier (sic) with the government, this was the first time my boss accused me of trying to fix somebody and also my dissolution (sic) in the way the PM was interfering with my duty.
- t.t. Dato’ Hj. Arifin bin Hj. Jaka
The following day on June 13, 2000, the media reported these proceedings and in particular Shafee’s testimony. Thereafter concerned personalities lodged police reports calling for Mahathir to be investigated for interference with the ACA’s investigations. Nothing was heard of the investigations.
The alleged interference was sometime in June 1998. In response to Shafee’s reported testimony Mahathir was reported in the media to have said that he could not remember the incident.
Here was a clear and glaring situation where the head of the ACA gave sworn testimony of Mahathir’s interference on an ongoing investigation by the agency.
Yet to date the public do not know what happened to not only that investigation of the Ketua Pengarah EPU but investigation of Mahathir for interfering with the ACA’s investigation. Yet ,earlier, the deputy prime minister was investigated, charged, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced for interferences with police investigations.
Now, if there was no truth in the evidence given by Shafee in court then Shafee should have been charged with perjury. That never happened.
Hence, what happened to the investigations on Mahathir? It certainly is not too late to reopen the file if at all one was opened after Shafee’s revelation in Court in June 2000. Otherwise fresh investigations should commence. As Mahathir may not be confident with the ACA investigating him the present government should invite a credible foreign agency to investigate him for the alleged interference with ACA investigation in June 1998.
"Siapa yang jumpa saya, akan masuk senarai hitam Khairy," katanya.
Beliau juga membidas ketua penerangan Umno Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib yang didakwa cuba menghalang pemimpin dan ahli parti itu menyertai forum dan ucapannya hari ini.
Mukhriz berkata, sewaktu bapanya memimpin negara, Dr Mahathir melarang anak-anaknya menyertai politik kerana bimbang pengaruh ahli keluarga.
Sekarang, tambahnya, makin meluas amalan rasuah, kronisme dan nepotisme dalam negara, selain masalah jenayah yang meningkat dan kenaikan harga barang.
Media pula, Mukhriz berkata, digunakan untuk tujuan propaganda sahaja, bukan mendengar suara orang ramai.
"Pihak-pihak tertentu sahaja mendapat liputan, bukan rakyat, bukan Umno tetapi individu tertentu sahaja," katanya.
malaysiakini
Mahathir said the party had chosen a democratic system, not a feudal system, which allowed ordinary members to deny a leader who did no good to the party.
"It is a good system, which does not require revolution. However, when there is a member who dares to voice out his opinion, he will be accused of not respecting the leaders and this 'culture' should not have existed in a democratic system."
Mahathir cited an example: "When I decided to retire, I dreamed of enjoying a good life, meeting my friends from the Cabinet. I was, howerver, shocked, because all my friends were restricted from seeing me. I have never thought that this would happen, being totally separated from the party."
He again called for Abdullah to step down and the party to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to explore the polls defeat as well as amending the party constitution to abolish the nomination quota system that is required for a candidate to contest in the party election that will start in July, culminating in the general assembly in December.
Mahathir also suggested the party have a presidential council to advice the party president and to limit his power.
"If there is such a council, the first advice to the president should be 'stop listening to the family'".
Present at the forum were Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, Mahathir's son Umno Youth exco Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, Umno Johor publicity chief Dr Puad Zarkashi and New Straits Times former editor Datuk Ahmad Talib.
A grassroots leader who raised a question to the panel on why the party was not considering re-accepting Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, agitated the rest of the audience and was immediately escorted away by the organisers.
"When Lim Guan Eng spoke about the NEP, all he said was he wanted to abolish the corruption as a result of NEP and there were people who demonstrated.
"Police did not do anything about the demonstrators and they too practiced double standards," Mahathir added.
Mahathir was also asked to comment on Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's statement that the 30% quota system for nomination for party elections was introduced by Mahathir to protect his own presidency.
Mahathir has asked for the 30% party support rule to be abolished.
"When we introduced it, it was done to allow only those who had substantial support from party members to contest and not for anyone to do so at their whim and fancy.
"It was not difficult for me to garner that support then and I welcomed those who wanted to challenge me even Razaleigh (Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah) and even someone who is now Prime Minister (Abdullah).
"I never gave out instructions that none should stand against me but you see what happened to Razaleigh when he wanted to challenge Abdullah in 2004?
"He only obtained one vote from his division because the others were threatened not to support him. Even in 2004, Khairy Jamaluddin won uncontested. I know for a fact that people who wanted to stand against him were threatened and hauled up by Youth Chief (Datuk Seri) Hishamuddin (Hussein) to stay away.
"What is this? If he was a shining and outstanding example we can accept but undue pressure was put on Umno members not to contest against him," he added.
He said though there were those within Umno who would make a better president and said they must have advisers chosen via the council and not their own family members.
theSunNot only have I not taken anything that was not due to me while I was Prime Minister but I have given back to the Government and the people everything that I had received as gifts during my tenure of office.
The Government had offered me land in Kedah and Langkawi and I had refused to accept. I have a 5-acre plot in Putrajaya which I paid for even though the Government was offering it to me free.
Even other accusations against me, including the dismissal of judges, were not my doing and I do not feel obliged to apologise. Ask the Tribunal to apologise.
from theSun
When I was Prime Minister, the Umno Malays would fall over each other in rushing to kiss my hands, Mahathir related during one public speaking event. Today, they are scared of being seen with me and will not even take my calls, lamented Mahathir.
If that is not the best example of Melayu mudah lupa then I don't know what is.
Mahathir received another dose of Melayu mudah lupa recently when Umno refused to allow his son to contest in Langkawi. Langkawi would not exist if not because of Mahathir. Mahathir made Langkawi into what it is today. But, today, Mahathir's son is not welcome in Langkawi. Instead, they sent him to Jerlun to contest. But he was sent to Jerlun not to win. He was sent to Jerlun to be slaughtered.
source: Malaysia Today
But Mahathir's son did win.
