PETALING JAYA, April 19 ― The Save Malaysia movement downplayed today the rift between former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and incarcerated former opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Former Umno leader Datuk Khairuddin Abu Hassan, who is part of the bipartisan group, warned the PKR-linked Otai Reformasi group not to “babble” against Dr Mahathir for saying that former deputy prime minister Anwar, aged 68, is too old to become prime minister.
“I would like to advise the group not to babble (melatah) as Tun Mahathir's statements have been spinned (sic) by the mainstream media.
“If Tun Mahathir continued to attack Anwar Ibrahim, of course he would not be collaborating with the opposition,” he told reporters here today.
Otai Reformasi, an Anwar sympathiser group, is scheduled to hold a media conference today to condemn Dr Mahathir for his statement against Anwar last week in an interview with Australian media.
Khairuddin said this was being done to split the Save Malaysia movement, saying this was pointless as Dr Mahathir appeared on a Pakatan Harapan platform last month.
PKR vice president Chua Tian Chang, while not disassociating the Save Malaysia movement from Otai Reformasi, said that it was their own prerogative to protest against Dr Mahathir.
“We cannot say we have no link because we have members who are in Otai. It is not fair to say there is no link, but everybody has the right to pass their own judgement on Mahathir, Musa Hitam, Tengku Razaleigh whatever. They have the rights to judge even on Anwar,” he told reporters today, referring to former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam and Umno veteran Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
The Batu MP said that “people must remember the history of Reformasi...it has no party linkage. People rise out in defending Anwar because he was a victim of political persecution”.
Bersih 2.0 chair Maria Chin Abdullah said the Save Malaysia movement was not split over deciding the next leader and is currently focused on its main goal of removing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak from office.
The Save Malaysia movement, which is pushing for Najib's ouster over allegations of financial impropriety, is led by Dr Mahathir and comprises politicians from both sides of the divide and civil society.
The group, however, has had troubles recently over picking a suitable candidate to replace Najib if he is removed.Some activists were opposed to former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and former deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin endorsing current deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as Najib’s successor.
The situation was further worsened when Dr Mahathir made a statement claiming that Anwar would be too old of a candidate to be named as prime minister in the future.
MALAY MAIL ONLINE
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