Literally Hitler — Minister reminds Dr M of past comparison to Nazi dictator

(MMO) – A Cabinet member today pointed out the irony of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad accusing Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s defenders of being like Nazi propagandist, given the former prime minister’s past comparison to Adolf Hitler.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak also called it “poetic justice” that Dr Mahathir had to resort to accusing Najib of the same things the former prime minister was denounced for during his 22-year rule.

“Mahathir calls all those who support Najib as ‘Little Goebbels’. Ironically this was what they also used to say about those who worked for Mahathir when he was prime minister,” Salleh wrote on his blog today.

“In fact, they also used to refer to Mahathir as ‘Hitler’, meaning a megalomaniac leader who accused his number two of sodomy as an excuse to get rid of him.”

Salleh then accused Dr Mahathir of hypocrisy for demanding that Najib prove his innocence, and reminded the former prime minister of his previous insistence that he was innocent unless proven guilty of the myriad claims of corruption and abuse that had plagued his administration.

Dr Mahathir also stayed on doggedly when challenged as Umno president and insisted that he would not resign as long as he won by “one vote”, but yet demanded that Najib must leave despite retaining the party presidency without contest, Salleh added.

“Mahathir sounds like a very worried person. And he thinks if you do not support him then you are a crook or have been bought. Mahathir has always been a bad judge of character,” Salleh concluded.

Dr Mahathir wrote in a blog post last night to draw comparisons between Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, and those defending Najib.

Among these was Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, whom Dr Mahathir attacked for defending Najib’s decision to remove him as Attorney-General.

Another minister, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, earlier called Dr Mahathir “disgraceful” for making the Nazi reference while Najib was in Germany for an official visit.

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said Dr Mahathir reached new lows by dredging up Germany’s actions during its Third Reich, when the European country has already atoned for its deeds during the Second World War.

Dr Mahathir has waged an extended campaign against Najib, but his bid to depose the prime minister has been clouded by suspicions that it is driven by a personal agenda to install his son to the position and build a dynasty.

Austrian-born Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany between 1934 and 1945, and was at the centre of World War II.