Dr M slams foreign press for negative coverage of Najib
By Wong Choon Mei, Suara Keadilan
Malaysia’s former premier Mahathir Mohamad has taken to task the foreign press for demonising his protege, the scandal-plagued new prime minister Najib Razak.
In his latest blog posting, Mahathir lashed out at the international media for what he alleged was “a concerted effort” to bring Najib down.
“From France to Britain to Australia, the articles are identical and carried the same message. The PM is said to be corrupt and involved in a murder case,” said Mahathir, who as the fourth prime minister ruled the country with a fist of iron from 1981 to 2003.
“Included in the condemnation of the new PM is the allegation that he would bring back Mahathirism. By this the Western press seems to imply that the fourth PM was a dictator who detained for no reason, manipulated the judiciary, controlled the press etc.”
The 83-year old, regarded by many Malaysians as being a dictator during his time in power, concluded that Najib did not have to bother about foreign views. It is what Malaysians think of him that matters.
“As the person concerned, I will leave it to Malaysians to judge and to define Mahathirism. They are the constituents which Najib should care about. The foreign press has an agenda of their own. And their friends in Malaysia are feeding them with the anti-Najib stories as they fear Najib would put a stop to their control of the media.
“Najib can expect to hear more of this kind of demonisation from the foreign press but it is what Malaysians think that counts. It is with them that Najib has to clear his name.”
But Malaysians too have negative perceptions about Najib
Perhaps Mahathir’s closeness with Najib has marred his vision somewhat, but a quick survey will show that many Malaysians do indeed perceive Najib as having – at one time or other – indulged in corrupt activities, although he has taken pains to deny this.
A case in point is the by-now world-famous commission-cum-murder case of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu. Both Malaysians and the international community see the hauntingly beautiful 28-year old as a modern day Mata Hari who helped Najib and his associate Razak Baginda seal a multi-billion ringgit submarines deal.
Three state-of-the-art submarines including two Scorpenes were ordered by Najib during his tenure as Defence Minister. French shipbuilder Armaris has come under the spotlight for paying a commission of 114 million euros to a company controlled by Baginda.
In Malaysia, questions are also rife as to why this commission – which amounts to over RM500 million – was paid and not used to reduce the acquisition price of some one billion euros.
If that had been done, it would have saved Malaysian taxpayers a hefty RM500 million, a huge amount by any currency standards.
Altantuya, who was pregnant when she was murdered in Malaysia in 2006, had demanded her US$500,000 share of the commission, but according to French newspaper Liberation, a jealous Rosmah Mansor – Najib’s wife – refused to give her a cent.
It is indeed telling of the lack of ethics in Malaysia’s current national leadership, that instead of acknowledging cause for doubt where there is weakness, or considering the fallout to the nation should for example, the French government order an investigation into the Armaris-Najib-Razak Baginda commission case, their first reaction is to blame and condemn others.
Just days ago, Najib’s government ordered four private Malaysian TV stations – TV3, ntv7, 8TV and tv9 – to observe four commandments relating to coverage of the Altantuya murder case.
(One) No naming of political analyst Razak Baginda and to ignore all news background related to him.
(Two) No visuals showing Razak Baginda in previous trials and after his release .
(Three) No reporting that Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor were linked to the case.
(Four) No reporting of statements from those accusing Najib and Rosmah of being involved in the case.
Is it any wonder that most Malaysians harbour strong suspicions about their new PM and his wife? Then, how can Mahathir – who incidentally was previously rapped by a Royal Inquiry for judge-rigging – fault the foreign press?
