Dr. M did not anticipate how Najib would manifest – Nation

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said that he had not anticipated what his former protected Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was going to do when he became the sixth prime minister.

"By the time I supported him, he seemed to be a good candidate for the post of prime minister," he said.

Addressing Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview, the prime minister was firm on the rule of law would apply to Najib, regardless of its context.

"He being a former prime minister has nothing to do with the application of the rule of law."

"Whoever it is, if you break the law, Wednesday's rule, Najib pleaded not guilty to a charge of abuse of power and three related breaches of trust. scandal 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) involving millions of ringgits 19659002] Dr. Mahathir stated that he had no intention of returning to politics when he resigned in 2003. [19659002] "But after I resigned and the new leader came to power, many people came to see me. to do something because they were not happy with the direction of my successor.

"Finally, Datuk Seri Najib took over, but still many people were not happy because of a lot of scandals involving him, a lot of money was lost, again people came to see me, asking me to do He said that overthrowing Najib and saving Malaysia was why he returned to politics and joined Pakatan Harapan.

"(Najib) was involved in many scandals , including accusations of stealing money from the government. No small amounts, but billions of ringgit.

"What Najib did was terrible for the country, then Anwar (advisor to PKR Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) and myself, and many others who in the past accused me of all kinds of wrongdoing, we decided that the past is over, "he said.

Dr. Mahathir said that he planned to resurrect the Malaysian economy after getting rid of his 1 trillion RM debt.

"We must reduce this debt so that the country is not obliged to pay interest … which will prevent us from having money for the development of the country", he said. he declares.

However, Dr. Mahathir believes that Malaysia has the potential to become a developed country with the right policies.

Dr. Mahathir, who turns 93 on Tuesday, said he will make his contribution as long as he is still able to do it.

"Now I am able to take corrective action, and if I do not do it, I think it will be really selfish," he said.