Former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam has condemned a viral video titled ‘Korek, Bongkar, Dedah (Dig, Break, Expose)’, which suggested that he brought out the bad side of his former boss, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
In a statement, Musa, who served as Dr Mahathirs deputy from 1981 to 1986, said the 20-second-long video was strategically edited to make it seem as though he had used unsavoury words to describe Dr Mahathir.
“Actually, I was responding to the master of ceremonies at an event who asked me to comment on allegations that I had to leave my post because Dr Mahathir blackmailed me.
“In denying the allegations, I mentioned the name of a political activist who said Dr Mahathir removed me based on certain accusations,” he said.
He said the video clip also highlighted words he used like “kotor” (dirty) and dosa besar” (big sin).
He said these were directed at the same political activist, whom he added was well-known for his “political fairy tales”, and not at Dr Mahathir.
He also said that he did not utter the words “dictator” or “Firaun” (Pharaoh) at the time.
Musa said he was sad that the video is making its rounds, especially when the country is changing to promote better freedom of speech.
“It is disheartening to know of signs showing that this freedom is being misused, making it more challenging to promote free speech,” he said.
Musa added that he has said his piece over the incident and would no longer be issuing further statements on the matter. – The Star