Nazri: Foreigners have no say in our affairs
(The Star) – Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz (pic) said Malaysia will not allow foreign intervention in its domestic matters.
Responding to a statement by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that foreign pressure was needed to remove Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Nazri said Malaysians could decide internally what will happen to the Government.
Nazri, who was a minister under Dr Mahathir’s administration, said the former prime minister had faced “frequent and unrelenting attacks” from the outside.
“What can the foreigners do? There were a lot of attacks but he (Dr Mahathir) still lasted 22 years,” the Tourism and Culture Minister told reporters after attending his ministry’s excellence awards ceremony and the launching of its new logo.
He described Dr Mahathir as a “desperado” who was motivated by “anger and selfish reasons to oust Najib”.
Dr Mahathir had earlier denied that he called for foreign interference in an attempt to remove the Prime Minister.
“I did not ask for any foreign governments to interfere.
“I said that all means of redress in this country have been shut down by Najib (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak).
“So, I will tell the foreign press about this,” he told reporters after launching the Human Life Advancement Foundation (HLAF) Forum on Nation-building yesterday.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak had also expressed alarm earlier at the former premier’s suggestion of foreign inter-vention.
Dr Salleh Said said Dr Mahathir had told The Weekend Australian that there was little hope Najib would step down without outside pressure.
Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying that he normally did not favour foreign interference in Malaysian affairs “but our avenues for redress have been closed completely”.
Asked about police probes against him, Dr Mahathir said he was prepared to face any investigation following the interview with The Weekend Australian.
“You can investigate me. I have been investigated twice.
“All of my friends have also been investigated,” he said.
At the HLAF forum, Dr Mahathir, who is the foundation chairman, said the Government should maintain the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English.
He said it was important to teach the two subjects in English to ensure that students could keep up with the latest discoveries and development.
“The subjects are not static and the content changes almost every day, unlike other subjects like Geography or History,” he added.
Dr Mahathir said the current education system, which is divided into religious, vocational, vernacular, private and government schools, did not have uniformity in teaching the subjects.
“Although private schools still follow the government curriculum, they teach certain subjects in English, which allows their students to excel,” he added.
