Zaid defends Mahathir, calls for halt to attacks
Former Umno minister says everyone errs when in power so there is no need to blame everything on Mahathir.
(FMT) – Everyone errs when they are in power, thus there is no need to pin all the blame on everything wrong in the country on former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
In coming to the defence of Mahathir, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim said the elderly statesman had apologised for his mistakes, including for amending the Federal Constitution which reduced the power of the Agong and Rulers.
“It is important to realise however, that there are two types of leaders, one who was corrupt and had abused his power but has since repented and wants to change, while the other who continues to lie and cheat the public as he has no remorse,” he said in his latest blog posting today.
This is something Zaid said, the likes of Amanah’s Saari Sungib and supporters of former Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim have to choose between.
Over the weekend, Selangor Amanah’s Saari Sungib said that Mahathir must repent and publicly apologise for his alleged misdeeds.
In response, Zaid had sent out a tweet, saying “Saari Sungib does not have to follow M, but dont humiliate and ridicule him. M has done enough apologising”.
Mahathir was instrumental behind the sacking of Anwar as the deputy prime minister and subsequent incarceration for corruption and sexual misconduct in 1998.
Zaid went on to point out that when he was a candidate for the Hulu Selangor by-election, both Mahathir and Muhyiddin Yassin – both of whom have since joined forces to form Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) – had made disparaging remarks about him and his family.
“I still remember that they said I made a ‘consolation’ payment to the judges who were sacked in 1988.”
“However, when Mahathir invited me to work together to ‘Save Malaysia’ and help him in his new party, I saw it as him apologising.”
