No third force, G25 prefers NCC

(The Star) – A note from the meeting revealed that the group turned down the idea as it wished to remain apolitical, expressing its interest in the concept of a National Consultative Council (NCC) mooted by Datuk Seri Nazir Razak.

The group of prominent Malays (G25) has been asked to consider working with a group led by an unnamed Datuk as a third force in Malaysian politics, but it declined.

The idea was posed to the group during a closed-door meeting with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at his residence on Oct 17.

There, the former deputy prime minister discussed events leading up to his removal from Cabinet and also the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) investigations.

A note from the meeting revealed that the group turned down the idea as it wished to remain apolitical, expressing its interest in the concept of a National Consultative Council (NCC) mooted by Datuk Seri Nazir Razak.

Nazir presented the idea at the recent Khazanah Megatrends forum, and the G25 is keen to work on this as a platform as it covers much of the group’s vision and mission.

“Representations are being made to DS Nazir to see when we can act on the initiative,” the group said in the note, which was made available to The Star yesterday.

The group members had also reportedly made it clear that they did not want Muhyiddin and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to be part of the proposed NCC, labelling them antagonists in the matter of 1MDB.

They feel that the present antagonists in the matter of 1MDB should not be involved in the NCC because it could result in a stalemate in whatever reforms needed to be made.

They also expressed concerns regarding a successor to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, saying that they were doubtful that the current pool of leaders in Parliament would change things for the better.

The group said it backed what it called “Nazir’s generation” to take the lead as that age group would be the one to carry the burden of nation-building forward.

G25 member Tawfik Ismail told The Star yesterday that the group had met Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin on separate occasions, where the topic of replacing Najib had been raised.

Dr Mahathir met with the group earlier this year and again on Oct 12.

Tawfik, who is the son of Malaysia’s second deputy prime minister Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, said G25 still regarded Najib as the best person to lead the country as he was a moderate by nature.