Dr M: Muhyiddin Will Allow MPs Facing Trial to Go Free

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Six Umno MPs facing corruption charges will never be convicted merely because Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration needs their support.

Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said there was no way the six, especially Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak would support Muhyiddin if they knew they were going to jail.

The six Umno lawmakers are Najib, who is also a former prime minister and current Pekan MP; Bagan Datuk MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi; Putrajaya MP Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor; Baling MP Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim; Pontian MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan; and Kinabatangan MP Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.

Muhyiddin, who is Bersatu president, is reliant on Umno and PAS if his fledgling party is to survive a snap election.

However, Muhyiddin’s opponents who have been purged from Bersatu have warned that Umno and PAS may jettison his party during an election, spelling doom for Bersatu.

“When Muhyiddin was planning to accept Umno and Najib as partners in his new party, he promised not to touch Najib’s trials and other trials involving Umno leaders. Trials would be continued.

“Now, the number of MPs supporting Muhyiddin is only 114, just three more than half (of the 222 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat).

“If these six MPs are found guilty by the court, they will no longer be MPs. Muhyiddin will only be left with 108, less than half. His government will collapse.

“For that reason, Muhyiddin will ensure that the six MPs will not be found guilty,” Dr Mahathir wrote in a recent blog post.

Najib led Barisan Nasional to its first defeat since the country’s independence – 61 years – in the 2018 general election amid allegations of grand corruption.

However, the newly installed Pakatan Harapan government collapsed in late February after Muhyiddin pulled Bersatu out of the coalition.

Muhyiddin formed a new pact – Perikatan Nasional – comprising Bersatu, PKR defectors, BN, PAS, GPS, PBS and Star.

Dr Mahathir’s post comes as speculation is rife about snap polls for Muhyiddin to seek legitimacy for his government.

In an interview with South China Morning Post (SCMP), Dr Mahathir said there was no way that Najib would support Muhyiddin to remain as prime minister if he knew he was going to jail.

“One thing is certain. Najib is not going to work hard to make Muhyiddin the prime minister if he is going to jail.

“He is not going to leave this man (to become) prime minister, and he goes to jail. He doesn’t want to go to jail.

“If he has a docile prime minister that he can influence, he may escape from going to jail,” Dr Mahathir said.

Dr Mahathir suggested that Najib’s ambition may not be limited to escaping jail, but he could also seek a political comeback, even as the prime minister once again.

“They will come up with all kinds of reasons… In the case of Najib, (they will say) he was a victim of a scam (by fugitive businessman) Jho Low.

“(They will say) it’s Low, not Najib, so we can find him not guilty. Once he is not guilty, he will then be eligible to contest and even become prime minister (again).

“At that stage, I think he is not going to support Muhyiddin as prime minister,” Dr Mahathir added.

He told SCMP that he was also not optimistic that people would be outraged at Najib’s comeback.

“People after some time (will forget) about his crimes and all that, even about his trial, because they feel that this man is championing Malay Muslims so the Malays must support him.

“He has reached the point where he can say, ‘yes, I stole money but I am your boss, so it’s all right’…because he is a Malay Muslim prime minister, although he has stolen money,” Dr Mahathir said.

He added that the government had already seen Najib’s stepson, Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, who was one of the main actors in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) financial scandal saga, escaping justice after the prosecution, under the leadership of Attorney General Tan Sri Idrus Harun dropped the case.

The same had applied to former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman, who had the 46 corruption charges laid out against him being dropped by the prosecution on Tuesday.

He did not discount snap elections but preferred Muhyiddin’s support to be tested in the Dewan Rakyat amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

For his counter-coup to work, Dr Mahathir said he would “have to be together” with PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He added that the plan’s success is also heavily depended on East Malaysian MPs who have demanded concessions for greater autonomy.

He ended his blog post on a sarcastic note.

“The world is watching how this backdoor government is changing the rules. Those guilty are not guilty. Those who are truthful are wrong. Those who win, lose. Those who lose, win.

“Congratulations. This is the new normal.”