Difficult to work with Mahathir but there's no choice: Azizah
Published on: Friday, January 19, 2018
Kuala Lumpur: It is difficult to work with former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, but it has to be done for the country's future, said Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.The PKR President, who is the wife of jailed opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said things had not been easy for the family since Anwar was imprisoned in 1998, but stressed that change was needed."He (Dr Mahathir) listens. Maybe he is a bit difficult (to work with), but we have to work things out for the country's future," she said during a Facebook Live session with The Malaysian Insight.ADVERTISEMENT At a Pakatan Harapan convention earlier this month, the coalition announced that its Chairman, Dr Mahathir, would be Prime Minister and Dr Wan Azizah his deputy if it won the 14th general election and formed the Federal Government.At the convention, Dr Mahathir thanked Anwar and his family for accepting him and allowing him to lead the opposition pact in GE14.Dr Mahathir sacked Anwar, his Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, on September 2, 1998, and subsequently, as Umno Deputy President. On April 14, 1999, Anwar was found guilty of four counts of corruption for interfering in police's investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct, and sentenced to six years' jail by the high court.On September 2, 2004, the PKR de facto leader was freed after almost six years in prison when the Federal Court allowed his appeal against his conviction for sodomy.ADVERTISEMENT Dr Mahathir's wife, Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, was seen in tears as she listened to her husband's speech at the PH convention.Dr Wan Azizah said Dr Siti Hasmah was perhaps touched by the support given to her husband by the people.
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"It's not an easy task for someone of that age. Maybe he (Dr Mahathir) also feels like he has to go through it again."It's not easy when you were in power, and now, you're in the opposition."Meanwhile, employing his trademark sarcasm, Mahathir poked fun at his detractors who call him a dictator ."People and the media never fail to point out that I was a dictator. I presided over an authoritarian government for 22 years," Dr Mahathir said in the latest post on his blog, chedet.cc. "Any mention of my name must be preceded or followed with the qualification "dictator".In the same irreverent vein, Dr Mahathir proceeded to list several examples of how he had acted like an autocrat during his reign between 1981 to 2003.These included the controversial Ops Lalang detention of 106 activists and politicians in 1987 and the sacking of former supreme court lord president Salleh Abbas in 1988. Human rights activists have frequently to referred to these two decisions as prime examples of the 92 year-old's iron-fisted rule. Dr Mahathir also refuted former police chief Hanif Omar, who has publicly stated that Ops Lalang was his decision."It is not true of course. I went over his head and ordered as many people as possible to be detained and tortured. If he denies it must be because of bran. Still he does not seem to like bran," Dr Mahathir wrote.Former attorney-general Abu Talib Othman, who served under Dr Mahathir, has openly stated that it was actually the King who had initiated Salleh's sacking."(Abu Talib) recently declared that I was not responsible for Tun Salleh Abas' dismissal. This just cannot be true."Everyone saw how I caught hold of Salleh Abas by the scruff of his neck and threw him out of his court. I don't know why Abu Talib should deny popular belief. Maybe I gave him bran. I don't remember."Other examples of his "dictatorial behaviour" were his orders that no school or road should be named after him and that political prisoners be released."Upon being appointed Prime Minister I ordered the release of 21 political detainees, detained by my predecessors," Dr Mahathir wrote."This release was of course the tradition with dictators. Previous democratic PMs did not release any detainees. They in fact added more because that was the democratic thing to do.""To cut a long story short, as a true dictator I decided to resign. All dictators do this."(German dictator) Adolf Hitler and (Italian fascist) Benito Mussolini unfortunately died before they could resign. Franco of Spain and Salazar of Portugal were about to resign when they died. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"But I was lucky. I was able to resign before I die. This confirms that I was a true dictator. I ordered some Ministers to rush up to me and cry when I made the announcement."