I wanted Najib as PM because I was grateful to Tun Razak, says Dr M
(The Malaysian Insider) – Mahathir Mohamad today said he had lobbied for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to become prime minister because of his gratitude to the latter’s father, Tun Abdul Razak.
Dr Mahathir said that he was “grateful and thankful” to Razak, who was Malaysia’s second premier, who had paved the way for him to take over as prime minister later.
“He was my mentor and idol. And when you are grateful to someone who has died, you want to repay him through his children and grandchildren,” he said to a crowd of 1,000 at the K-Club in Taman Melawati today.
“So I went all out to ensure that his (Razak’s) son became the prime minister. I called up Pak Lah (Tun Abdullah Badawi) and wrote him a letter, telling him he should pick Najib as the next prime minister… because I was indebted to Tun Razak.”
Dr Mahathir, who is Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister, said that he was previously confident of Najib’s ability to lead the country because he was “educated and stylish”.
“But as much as we love him, we cannot just keep quiet even when he kills someone,” he said, as the crowd cheered.
“That was just an example. I am not referring to anyone.”
Dr Mahathir has gone on a tirade against Najib in recent months, urging the prime minister to step down over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, for continuing the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) and also over the murder of a Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu.
