Mahathir’s unfounded fear of being assassinated
K. Kabilan, Berita Daily
Pakatan Harapan chairman and prime minister candidate Dr Mahathir Mohamad today criticised the police and Armed Forces for supporting Prime Minister Najib Razak.
He said the police and the Armed Forces should not be loyal to the government and prime minister, but to the country and King according to the federal constitution.
He also slammed the police for acting according to the wishes of Najib, perhaps alluding to the police intimidation of civil society activists, including the recent questioning of Bersih 2.0 officials.
He recalled how former Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos fell from power after the security forces turned against him following the assassination of his political opponent Benigno Aquino in 1983.
And then came his bombshell.
He asked if the police and army were willing to wait until “some of us are assassinated, including me, before they come to their senses”.
And when asked by the media if he was afraid of something happening to him, Mahathir said:
“With this man, I am worried about everything.”
Wah! Really? Mahathir fears that his life is in danger? And that he could be assassinated? Not just him, but also some others in the opposition pact?!
How credible is this? Only Mahathir knows. But for him to turn, twist and spin something out of nothing and feeding it to the eagerly waiting hungry media is nothing new.
He knows the media would pick on his comments on this and amplify it. In another hour or so, world media would be picking up stories about Mahathir fearing for his life in Malaysia.
It would then be turned and spun to make as though we are living in a state where political assassins are running wild – all to protect PM Najib.
Come of it now. Let’s get realistic. Fight the political battle on the political ground.
Of course, if Mahathir has adequate evidence of his life being in danger, the best thing he could do is to reveal whatever he knows publicly.
Knowing Mahathir, when faced with questions of his alleged threat to life, he would cooly say that he didn’t say anything like that, and that the media had read too much into it. All these, after causing an unnecessary panic of course.
Why? Because it’s all a political game for politicians who only want to win at any cost.
