Tun Dr. Mahathir Speech At Petaling Jaya

Form independent group, Dr M tells Umno MPs

PETALING JAYA: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has suggested that Umno MPs form an independent group instead of crossing over to the Opposition if they are dissatisfied with the present leadership.
Dr Mahathir said crossing over to the Opposition was wrong, as they would be subjected to opposition policies and would not be able to determine anything.
“You will be an ordinary member, but by forming a separate group, say at least 35 of them, this will cause the Government to collapse and the current Prime Minister will have to resign.
“Then if PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tries to become the Prime Minister and if the votes go to him and then if Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak have the guts to step in, the 35 MPs can give their votes to him.
“When he (Najib) becomes the Prime Minister, Barisan Nasional remains in power, and it will be no lost to anyone except to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,” he told a press conference after delivering his speech during a forum “Suntikan Semangat Satria” at a hotel Saturday.
The event was organised by three non-governmental organisations known as Minda Melayu Kreatif, Kelab Cinta Amanah Melayu and Arena PJS14.
He was commenting on Anwar’s claims that certain MPs from Sabah were expected to “jump ship” by Sept 16.
Asked if he would relinquish his positions in several companies and government agencies including the positions as Proton and Petronas advisors upon his decision to quit as an Umno member, Dr Mahathir said he did not see why he should do so.
“It may be an option, if I feel that I have to do so. But I prefer if they kick me out."
“Actually this is not related to me being an Umno member, as all past retired Prime Ministers are given jobs, and in the past we never took away their jobs even though they ceased to become Umno members,” he added.
On whether former PKR youth chief Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor was a “Trojan horse” for the party (PKR), Dr Mahathir said in politics everything was possible.
“He may be that (Trojan horse) but what I do know is that Anwar is anxious to be supported by Umno and he may want to join Umno at some stage, if he can become the Prime Minister,” he added.
On the International Court of Justice’s decision of giving the ownership of Pedra Branca to Singapore, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia did not send a competent team unlike Singapore.

Dr M: Ezam a possible Trojan Horse
Former PKR Youth chief Ezam Mohd Noor may possibly act as a Trojan Horse for PKR with his recent re-entry into Umno, said former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Speaking during a public lecture in Petaling Jaya today, he warned Umno members to be cautious of Ezam's latest move as it may be linked to a bid by Anwar Ibrahim to shore support from Umno to become prime minister.
“In politics, anything is possible. It may be that (Ezam is a Trojan Horse). What I do know is that Anwar is quietly anxious to be supported by Umno. “He may want to join Umno at some stage, if he (believes that he) can become PM through that (channel),” Mahathir told a press conference after the event, when asked to clarify his comments on Ezam during his speech.
The issue was raised today when a member from the floor asked Mahathir to comment on the Umno leadership’s decision to accept Ezam back into the party.
Mahathir, without naming anyone, said that “Those who jumped from one party would jump again” and then had the crowd in stitches by using the “Frog Prince” folktale as an analogy for ‘party hoppers’. “Maybe the frog would eventually become a prince. We shall wait and see if this happens. Maybe Pak Lah would kiss the frog,” he quipped.
‘Desperate for support’
On Wednesday, embattled Prime Minister and Umno president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi accepted membership applications from Ezam and several of his followers.
The event received heavy media publicity and is viewed as a morale booster for Abdullah, who has been under attack by party members since Barisan Nasional’s poor showing during the March 8 general election.
Observers have predicted Umno would task Ezam with attacking his former party and its de facto leader Anwar. But his re-entry into Umno has raised doubts among certain party stalwarts such as Youth chief Hishamuddin Hussien.
In his usual sarcastic tone, Mahathir said the Umno leadership was “desperate” for signs of support and therefore accepted Ezam. “They are desperate to see support for themselves. Let them accept him. This is a sign of great support for Umno. In fact, they should accept Karpal Singh, the menteri besar of Perak, and also Param Cumaraswamy and Anwar. “All these people want Abdullah to be there. They are very supportive of Abdullah. Therefore, they should be accepted, if not a full member, at least an associate member. Karpal in particular. He scolded me for giving a lot of trouble to Abdullah,” he said.
‘Only 35 needed to topple Pak Lah’
During his 40-minute speech today, at the forum titled “Suntikan Semangat Satria (Injecting the Warrior’s Spirit)”, Mahathir continued his attacks against Abdullah and urged Umno members to leave the party.
Mahathir said that Abdullah should “be a gentleman” and follow the examples of former Umno president Onn Jaaffar and Tunku Abdul Rahman who both stepped down as party presidents after losing support from the grassroots.
During the question-and-answer session, Mahathir, now a former Umno member, reiterated his call for Umno MPs to leave the Barisan Nasional coalition and become independent MPs to force Abdullah’s government to collapse.
“If 35 MPs leave (Barisan), they become the kingmakers in Parliament - the government might collapse. Anwar is trying to become PM as well. (But) we should leave the choice (of premiership) to Umno.
“When this prime minister (Abdullah) is forced to step down, someone else would take over and the 35 would rejoin Barisan. This is one way to change the party leadership, but at the same time, we ensure that we are still in power,” he explained.

tunku : this trojan horse already brought in some of the army together with him to look for more support.once everything settle they will open the main gate for anwar to rejoin umno.


‘They are waiting’
Following his decision to quit as Umno member in protest of Abdullah’s leadership, Mahathir had urged Umno MPs to follow suit and force Abdullah to step down.
This has not be altogether successful and even his own son, Mukhriz, the Jerlun MP, did not quit Umno saying that he prefered to reform Umno from within.
Asked by reporters on the matter, a confident Mahathir said there were MPs who had taken in his idea, but had yet to formally quit the party. “They all say that they have quit the party, but they have not written to the party. They say they will observe for a short while before making a decision,” he said. He also agreed to a suggestion that the Umno MPs' reluctance to quit the party now was because of looming party election. “They seem to put their hopes in the party election. I don’t think the party election would result in any changes in leadership,” he added.
However, earlier in his speech, Mahathir had acknowledged that it was not easy to urge Umno MPs to leave the party as they would be worried about losing their perks.
“What if I get government positions? What if I get contracts? All this affects them. No one has is willing to leave (the party), including my own son,” he said.

'They can sack me, I don't care'
Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he would prefer to be fired from his advisory positions in government bodies than to vacate the posts.
“If they say ‘get out’, I’d get out. No problem... vacating the post is an option I like to keep. But I prefer if they kick me out,” he told a press conference today.
Currently, Mahathir is an advisor to oil and gas giant Petronas, national carmaker Proton, the Langkawi Development Authority and the Tioman Island Development Authority.
“If they want to take away (all) this, they are welcomed... I’m not dependent on that; Not even if they give me RM15,000 a month and make a hue and cry about it. I didn’t ask for it in the first place,” he said.
Journalist had asked Mahathir about his positions held because he was no longer a member of Umno since May 21. His son Mokhzani had followed suit and was asked by Youth and Sports Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to step down as Sepang International Circuit chairperson.
Mahathir said that the advisory positions held by him had nothing to do with him being an Umno member, as the government had a policy of giving retired prime ministers jobs. He said that past Umno presidents such as Hussien Onn, who did not join Umno Baru in 1987, were never stripped of their jobs.
Mahathir was speaking to reporters after speaking at the “Suntikan Semangat Satria (Injecting the Warrior’s Spirit)” forum organised by Minda Melayu Kreatif, Kelab Cinta Amanah Melayu and Arena PJS 14 in Petaling Jaya.

tunku : this is pak lah's regime, if you are not an umno member or do not support him you can take any position in government agencies or related agencies.transparent and good governance by pak lah as screamed by zaid ibrahim.

Batu Puteh decision
During the forum, when responding to a question from the floor, Mahathir joined the chorus of mainly opposition voices in lambasting the government’s performance in the International Court of Justice hearing on the dispute over Pulau Batu Puteh with Singapore.
“We were hoping that the government would send a effective delegation. Singapore sent their chief justice and a lawyer who used to work with the United Nations. We only sent our Attorney-General, who is not very famous.
“(The court) made a decision that baffles me. If we scrutinise the verdict, it is strange that Pulau Batu Puteh was awarded to Singapore, because (Middle Rocks) that is further south from Batu Puteh, was awarded to us.
“Our people were not good at arguing (the case). They did not deny that the letter that was written by a Johor official, who admitted that Batu Puteh was not ours, they (the Malaysian legal team) did not question the official’s authority in issuing the letter,
“The letter was written by an official before independence to a British officer in Singapore. Our official was probably not independent and was advised by the British to verify that Batu Puteh was not ours,
“This is what happened when we sent people (to the International Court of Justice) who are not good in such matters,” he said.
The 12 - 4 decision by the world court was based on a letter written in 1953 by the state secretary of Johor to the Singapore government which states that Johor does not stake claim over Pedra Branca, which Pulau Batu Puteh is otherwise known.

tunku : even rais yatim said that if he had been there from first day, pulau batu putih verdict will be different.they really sent weak team under syed hamid.