Dr Mahathir has drawn a large crowd, many of them Umno members and opposition supporters, to an Ipoh hotel. They are listening attentively to what he has to say about 1MDB and the misuse of public funds.
Dr Mahathir in Ipoh now – huge crowd, no where to sit or stand, said my friend Gerry. Sent by WhatsApp pic.twitter.com/0a3m09Xl9e
— Jong (@Jong79323876) May 16, 2015
It is standing room only now at the ballroom – all seats have been taken up. Mahathir also touches on the luxurious lifestyle of the PM and his spouse.
Some 5000 people turned up in and around the hotel, according to one eyewitness. “It was not only the ballroom; there were a lot of people at the lobby and special area sitting down on the floor and watching the screen. People kept on coming and there was a traffic jam heading towards town.”
The eyewitness, however, noted the irony behind Mahathir’s talk in the hotel ballroom: “It has political value, but most of the issues are part and parcel of his legacy.
“The positive thing about this guy is he has a clear stand against the implementation of hudud and against imperial designs.”
Mantan PM, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dan isteri, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali mengambil tempat. – Foto Sinar Harian pic.twitter.com/zh8EEsZdkC
— SinarOnline (@SinarOnline) May 16, 2015
Responding to questions raised at a press conference, Mahathir reasoned that the grassroots have to reject Najib’s leadership – and the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement.
This should give Najib cause for concern. I am told that Zaid Ibrahim is also present.
Orang ramai memenuhi ballroom hotel di Ipoh, menanti Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dalam program Bicara Negara, hari ini. pic.twitter.com/hftUGz3k79
— SinarOnline (@SinarOnline) May 16, 2015
Meanwhile, there is this:
Parliament speaker has quit, Dr M reveals: Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia is no longer the parliament speaker, Tu… http://t.co/cye6c818NS
— Malaysian Insider (@tm_insider) May 16, 2015
The eyewitness said Mahathir did mention something like that – about the Speaker wanting to quit – but he couldn’t catch what he was saying very clearly.
One MP I just spoke to said Pandikar was hardly around in Parliament during the last session except for the last couple of days, leading to rumours that he was about to quit. But the Deputy Speaker reportedly says Pandikar was on official leave then.
If Pandikar has quit, what prompted him to do so? Has his conscience finally been pricked? Or was it something else?
If it is true that he has quit, then it throws up even more uncertainty over what lies ahead. We shall see.
Issues and trends
Of course, 1MDB is a hot potato right now and international ratings firms are concerned about the Malaysian government’s contingent liabilities.
But what is Mahathir’s agenda? If Najib goes, who does he want to see as his successor? Is there anyone around in the BN ranks who is trustworthy and capable? Is there anyone around whom Mahathir can trust?
More importantly, while we can all agree that Malaysia’s financial position is looking more precarious and something has to be done, Mahathir’s objectives are likely to be much different from the rakyat’s aspirations. And like the eyewitness said, many of the issues we are confronted with today were spawned during the Mahathir administration. But Mahathir refuses to acknowledge that.
The former premier has correctly pointed out the threat the TPP poses to the country – though probably for different reasons from those put forward by activists.
Meanwhile, Johor Umno is apparently backing Najib. But how long can the PM hold out?
And Anwar remains locked up in jail.
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Dr Mahathir poured scorn on Najib’s explanation on why the government had bought a new private jet and questioned whether the planes were more important than border security.
“Is it going to stop the kidnapping and casual invasions of Sabah or the smuggling of arms from across the northern border? Or is the security confined to people flying in private jets only.”
The full video of Tun M’s speech and Q&A can be viewed on Youtube’s Din Turtle site. This is Umno’s self-cannabalism at play and we can amuse ourselves with the sacarsm from Tun M. Unfortunately Tun M constantly makes reference to chinese voters while MCA is afraid to response. Interestingly one vocal audience asked Tun M if he could be sacked by Najib just before the end of Q&A session at the Ipoh hotel. Question now is who is telling lies, Mahathir or Pandikar? Najib could exploit this using his ‘I help you, you help me’ tactics on Pandikar to… Read more »
Here is the link to the Dr M’s speech at the Ipoh hotel on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BRPSRM6dxw
Dr M was “tricked”. Someone wanted to show the public that not everything he says is true.
The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) said PM Najib must be held responsible for his role in two scandals – 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the Scorpene deal – in which billions of ringgit were plundered with no accountability, as the similarities between both controversies were “deeply worrying” when Najib’s aides Jho Low and Razak Baginda were engaged respectively.
Freedom of press in Malaysia can be assessed by the very distinct different coverages on Mahathir vs Najib matter between mainstream media vs social media.
Absolutely! So is Anwar Ibrahim.
For once i like what Mahathir doing to unseat Najib who is so popular even Obama like him. The other part i like him his fighting spirit at this age. The rest of the part i don’t like him at all. rajraman. There is no UMNO MP with PM materials. All tainted. Tainted with what subject to readers interpretation.Some UMNO MP even mentally …. like someone from Kinabatangan.A by product of race based education….Trace back all current UMNO leaders most of them have family ties with former UMNO warlords. It’s better UMNO and Barisan buried…. There always another days for… Read more »
Whether we like him or not, Dr M does not
need to “rent a crowd” or pay out large amounts of $$$ to win support.
But he surely need to lie a lot just like the Pandikar case to get the crowd.
The crowd maybe in the hundred but surely not in the thousand but then what can we say of opposition that like to brag.
Mahathir mentioned in jis speech that he heard ‘Ayam for you’ when the kids sang 1M4U.
Maybe he is thinking of the RM1 chicken?