Dr M: I shouldn’t have acted against Anwar

(FMT) – Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday acknowledged he had made the wrong decision by “going by the law completely” in sacking Anwar Ibrahim as his deputy 20 years ago.

In an interview with Sin Chew Daily, he said he should not have acted against Anwar in that manner when the allegations against him cropped up.

If he could turn back time, Mahathir added, he might not have sacked Anwar.

“From the political point of view, I would not have done this. When I was the prime minister, I promised myself not to do anything that would make people hate me.”

However, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman said he had no choice as the police had presented all the evidence to him in 1998.

He also denied it was his call to sack Anwar as Umno’s deputy president, saying it had been the collective decision of the party’s Supreme Council.

“We had a Supreme Council meeting until 4am. Everyone had a chance to speak.

“They not only didn’t want him to be deputy president, they also didn’t want him in the party.

“It was not my decision.”

Mahathir, who is also PPBM chairman, said if he was a dictator as many had labelled him, he could have put Anwar directly in jail instead of giving him a trial.

“I was angry with the police. They didn’t tell me initially but later said they had given him a black eye.

“But I insisted that he be given a trial.”

Anwar, the 70-year-old PKR leader, is serving five years’ jail for sodomising a former aide, a charge he has said was politically motivated.

He cannot run for political office for five years after his release unless the king pardons him. He is due for release from prison on June 8.

In the interview, Mahathir said he would not return to Umno even if its president Najib Razak stepped down, neither would he form a coalition government, even without the prime minister.

He expressed hope that Umno members who were unhappy with Najib would support PH in the coming general election.

He was also confident that PPBM could help PH get more Malay votes to win Putrajaya this time around.