EVEN with the looming Hari Raya Aidilfitri, two-time former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has demonstrated no sense of forgiveness but instead up his ante to be ‘sarcastically relevant’ by poking fun at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on his social media page.
In his latest Facebook posting entitled “Duit” (literally, “Money”), the country’s longest serving prime minister (PM) with a total of “22 years and 22 months” took a swipe at Anwar by enlightening the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman that “word of mouth alone” would not be valid in court of law.
“Legally, everything which is halal is acceptable by the court. What is not acceptable is word of mouth (cakap mulut),” penned the nonagenarian who will soon be locking horns with his so-called disciple in civil court following a legal suit after Anwar refused to retract nor apologise for accusing him of having enriched his family members while he was in office as PM.
“So, if one accuses another of embezzling billions of ringgit without any form of note (as on the cheque and cheque book), that surely doesn’t hold water. This nevertheless is the shape of money today – no metal, paper, cheques or electronic notes – none at all, thus making making them somehow invalid.”
For the uninitiated, the well-known animosity between Dr Mahathir and Anwar dates back to 1998 when he sacked his so-called disciple from the portfolios of deputy prime minister (DPM) and finance minister.
In 2016, the duo attempted to mend fences when Dr Mahathir sought to gain opposition support in his quest to oust the now incarcerated ex-premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
When Dr Mahathir became PM for the second time in the aftermath of the 2018 General Election, there was an agreement that he would cede power to Anwar after the latter was accorded a royal pardon. However, this never came to fruition.
Soon after, Dr Mahathir was accused by critics of allowing the 2020 Sheraton Move plot to take shape in order to retain power and deny Anwar the premiership.
For the record, Dr Mahathir had also ticked off Anwar yesterday (April 19) for having reminded the “Malays not to feel too comfortable and arrogant” till hindering other races from celebrating their cultures or robbing them of their privileges.
“I also found out that he made such statement after a visit to Cambodia and that he had said even though Cambodian Muslims are only 10% of the population, they are being celebrated, mosques are not demolished, their rights are protected and they are even appointed as ministers to represent their interests,” Dr Mahathir highlighted on his Facebook page.
“Anwar’s statement is quite strange and odd because he insults the Malays as arrogant and does not behave like the majority of Buddhists in Cambodia who celebrate the Muslim minority.
“But the truth is that firstly, the Malays have before and after Merdeka celebrated many other races. Citizenship was granted to one million immigrants without meeting the conditions and they are even allowed to continue the customs, culture, school, language, religion and way of life of their country of origin.”
Added Dr Mahathir: “When Malaysia achieved independence, they are even given the right to vote and their representatives are appointed as ministers and to other highest positions in the government.
“Not one person but if you count from the time of independence until today, there are hundreds if not thousands if you include all the positions of ministers, deputy ministers, parliamentary secretaries and other important positions.” – April 20, 2023
