“Old” Mahathir gatecrashes forum about whether he was too old to be prime minister, urging panellists to “say it to my face”.
Political analyst Kamarul Zaman Yusoff today defended himself against suggestions that he had “freaked out” over Mahathir’s surprise appearance at yesterday’s ‘Is Tun M Too Old To Be PM?’ forum, with pictures and videos of the event going viral.
The allegations spreading around social media are untrue, especially the ones with a photo that shows me looking stunned next to him,” he said.
The Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) lecturer and opposition critic also took to task DAP leaders Hannah Yeoh and Yeo Bee Yin, whom he labelled as “Christian evangelists”, for “making fun of me on their Facebook pages”.
“Nevermind, they shall reap what they sow,” he said in a lengthy explanation of his arguments yesterday on why Mahathir should not return as prime minister again.
It is understood that Mahathir had followed the forum on Facebook Live before deciding to go there with his wife, Dr Siti Hasmah Ali.
He reportedly arrived at the forum about an hour after it started at 3.15pm.
Many in the audience were taken by surprise, and stood up as they cheered Mahathir and his wife.
“I’m here guys. Say it to my face,” Mahathir posted on Twitter with a picture of himself sitting while facing the forum’s panellists and moderator on Thursday.
Kamarul said he had suspected the forum was to promote the PPBM chairman.
“Although I realised that this forum might be biased, I chose to attend to present some alternative facts about Dr Mahathir’s abilities,” he said.
Sinar Harian, which organised the forum, quoted Mahathir as saying when he was handed the microphone that he was still active physically and mentally.
“I am healthy because I stay active, not just physically but also mentally.
“Being active is very important. I have been active by thinking and solving problems.
“When many people get older, they want to sleep a lot, but they must resist this.
“The body reacts to your environment without you knowing it,” he said.
To a question on how he looked after himself, Mahathir said that he did not overeat.
“When the food is tasty, my mother used to say stop.
“This is a very hard thing to do, but if you are able to achieve it, it shows you have a disciplined mind,” he added.
Mahathir was seated in the front row of the forum, together with other forum attendees.
Kamarul said that questions from the audience were barred, denying him the opportunity to criticise Mahathir “to his face”.
He also attacked moderator Nazri Kahar from Astro Awani, adding that fellow panellists, psychologist Mat Saat Baki and fitness expert Kevin Zahari, “had been assigned” to talk about Mahathir’s mental and physical strength to portray him as fit to be the prime minister again.
“I am also highly aware that the moderator, Nazri Kahar, is a Dr Mahathir supporter and a critic of Najib (Razak), and this is proven by the questions given to me an hour before the event, asking for a comparison between a corrupt younger leader and an innovative older leader,” Kamarul said.
In a blogpost earlier, Mahathir said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak does not need to be afraid to debate him.
“YAB is still young. What is there to be afraid of by debating a 90-year-old person,” he said, adding that Najib could ask him about his record as prime minister.
Mahathir said he realises that he does not have much time left but that as long as he still had life in his body, he would fight for race, religion and country.
Meanwhile, Siti Hasmah was asked about her husband returning to Putrajaya again.
“My main role is to look after Mahathir. That’s why I follow him everywhere to make sure he is healthy.”