Mahathir torn to pieces by Al Jazeera

(Al Jazeera) – In this week’s UpFront, we speak to Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s former leader, about his call for Prime Minister Najib Razak to resign.

Headliner – Former PM Mahathir Mohamad: Malaysia ‘will go to the dogs’

Malaysia’s former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, wants to “save Malaysia” and oust the country’s current PM Najib Razak over claims that he mismanaged the economy, suppressed free speech and allegedly took hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes, all accusations the PM denies.

The “Save Malaysia” movement, led by Mahathir and made up of opposition leaders from across the political spectrum, is centred on a multimillion-dollar corruption scandal that alleges nearly $700m found in Najib’s personal bank accounts came from the state-funded 1Malaysia development fund. Najib, however, says the money was a campaign donation from Saudi Arabia and has since been returned.

Mahathir, who served as the country’s prime minister for 22 years, says that Najib must “go” and that his “leadership undermines” Malaysia’s institutions. In this week’s Headliner, Mehdi Hasan challenges Mahathir on his campaign to oust the current prime minister.

“He’s gone off track,” Mahathir says. “He has done a lot of things which are actually wrong, and as a result he has put the country in a very bad position.”

Commenting on Malaysia’s future, Mahathir adds: “If Najib is there, this country will go to the dogs.”

In a wide-ranging interview, the former prime minister also discusses his political future, his legacy and his history of anti-Semitic remarks.