Corrupt Cabinet will be Najib’s and BN’s ‘death warrant’, says Dr M

 

By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has warned prime minister-elect Datuk Seri Najib Razak to select his Cabinet well, saying corrupt leaders will effectively see the end of Barisan Nasional's uninterrupted five-decade rule of Malaysia.

"People are watching and we know who is corrupt. If Najib as prime minister chooses them, it will be signing his own death warrant and he will lose the 13th general election," Malaysia's longest-serving premier told reporters today.

He pointed out it was up to Umno members and the people to check the party's candidates and prevent the corrupt from winning.

"There is a lot of money politics and if corrupt leaders win, then Umno will not regain support," Dr Mahathir said bluntly.

He added graft had turned off most people, even BN members, from supporting the coalition in the last elections.

He hoped the Umno disciplinary board and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission would act seriously and take real action against money politics.

The MACC yesterday charged Umno supreme council member Datuk Norza Zakaria on two counts of bribery in the run-up to the party polls at the end of this month.

Dr Mahathir also rubbished Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang's suggestion for a unity government.

"We tried this before in 1970 when Pas joined BN. But they acted only in their own interests.

"They prioritise political gains and betray Malays to get non-Malay support," Dr Mahathir claimed.

He cited, for example, Pas spiritual leader Datuk Niz Aziz Nik Mat's claim that there was nothing wrong with rearing pigs in a Malay area so long as they do not eat it.

He said that while it is true that Islam does not forbid it, such an act is contrary to Malay culture.