Mahathir hounds scandal-ridden Malaysian PM Najib Razak in by-election campaign
The former Malaysian leader carried his anti-Najib message to Sungai Besar, a coastal town amid the paddy fields, coconut groves and palm oil plantations and called on voters to rally behind the candidate from the newly-formed National Trust Party, known as Amanah.
Malaysia’s veteran former leader Mahathir Mohamad campaigned against his old party over the weekend, seeking to turn voters against scandal-tainted Prime Minister Najib Razak in two by-elections being fought next week.
The feisty 90-year-old has teamed up with old foes in the Pakatan Harapan opposition alliance to remove Najib, his one-time protege.
“If the people want to see this country being robbed by the PM, who has now passed a law that makes him stronger than even the Agong [King] ... If that’s what the people want, they’ll get what they deserve,” Mahathir told a news conference while campaigning on Saturday.
It doesn’t matter what party, these are parties for the people against Najib because he has committed a lot of corruption
The multi-ethnic Barisan Nasional coalition led by Umno has lost support among the Southeast Asian nation’s ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities because the controversy, leaving the embattled premier desperately trying to shore up his Muslim Malay votebank.