SHAH ALAM, 18 Aug: The former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamad, today withdrew his support towards the leadership of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, after he saw that the actions of Najib’s leadership are ineffective compared to Tun Abdullah Badawi.
He said that the policies, approach and actions of the government under the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib which has damaged race relations, the economy and national finances because supporters of the government never criticise the leaders.
“If no one is willing to criticise, let me criticise. I have been fired by Tunku Abdul Rahman, isolated by Datuk Seri Abdullah and defamed by many. If I will be abused for criticising, I am forced to accept it,” he said through his blog Chedet.cc.
He said that he did not expect Najib’s performance in the 13th General Election (GE13) to be worse than Tun Abdullah.
“My hope was for Dato Seri Najib to learn from his bad performance in the 13th General Election.
“Unfortunately, until now, there has been no changes seen in terms of policy or approach despite me trying to convey my opinions (and the opinions of others who come to see me) directly to Dato Seri Najib.
“I have no choice but to withdraw my support. Even this did not work. That is why I am forced to criticise,” he said.
He said that withdrawal of support started with the stance of ‘treating all demands as the enemy’ by abolishing the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the laws of banishment.
This move did not reduce resistance by the opposition even by a little, instead crime increased significantly due to the release of group leaders.
Clearly, the use of government funds to influence the people’s support whenever a general election is held has made the people overly dependent on the government for everything.
“For the really poor, such assistance is appropriate. But thousands of people who were offered refused such monetary assistance.
“The spirit of the people to work withers when they are rewarded without any effort from them. This spirit will not help the country’s development,” he added.
NS
