Mahathir: vote in ‘thieves’ but don’t expect Pakatan Harapan to fix Malaysia after that

The premier said he could not understand how Malaysians are influenced by disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak

He also downplayed earlier comments that the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition could be a one-term government

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Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has questioned how Malaysians can be influenced by former premier Najib Razak, who is on trial for abuse of power and corruption. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:15pm, 20 Jan 2020Updated: 9:15pm, 20 Jan 2020

Malaysians can opt to bring “thieves” back in the next general elections, but should not expect the current Pakatan Harapan coalition to be able to fix things after that, premier Mahathir Mohamad warned on Monday.

“People are kissing the hands of thieves and calling them ‘bossku’ [my boss],” said Mahathir, referencing disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak, who is currently on trial for over 40 charges of corruption and abuse of power for his alleged role in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

“[They think] if bossku wants to steal money, it doesn’t matter and it’s OK. I don’t know how people can be influenced by someone who even now is facing trial for cheating, for stealing money,” Mahathir said during the launch of Malaysia’s 5G network trials.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who served as prime minister from 1981 to 2003 before returning to power in 2018. Photo: DPA

“If they want this person back, OK … but don’t expect Harapan to take over after that to fix it. If voters feel that crooks should run this country because crooks give you a lot of money, well, go ahead,” said Mahathir.

The Pakatan Harapan coalition, which swept to power in 2018 by dethroning Najib’s Barisan Nasional coalition for the first time in over 60 years, faced many problems left behind by the previous government he said, attributing the coalition’s current negative public perception to its poor communication skills.