Mahathir: Rally, referendum the way to oust Najib
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Former prime minister wants Council of Rulers to help in setting up independent tribunal, comprising judges from both inside and outside the country.
PUTRAJAYA: Dr Mahathir Mohamad urged the people to step up their game and exert more pressure on Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
He said that such actions could lead to a referendum, which may be the only way forward in ousting Najib.
“I suggest the people push for a referendum on the prime minister’s leadership. Or a peaceful rally to demand his removal,” Mahathir said, adding that referendums had worked in other countries and so should be an option to be explored.
“The people expect Najib to be removed but, unfortunately, the very agencies that are supposed to enforce the law are the ones being investigated and questioned.
“Referendums have been done in many countries and they have successfully led to the removal of their leaders.
“This is especially so in situations where the leaders refuse to remove themselves,” he told a press conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation here today.
The 91-year-old former prime minister’s call came on the heels of the lawsuits filed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) yesterday to recover USD1 billion in assets said to have been purchased in the US using USD3.5 billion in funds allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB.
In its lawsuits, filed in Los Angeles, DoJ said the assets included penthouses, mansions, artwork, a private jet and proceeds from the “Wolf of Wall Street” movie.
Mahathir also reiterated his call for an independent tribunal, comprising judges from both inside and outside the country, and hoped that the Council of Rulers could step in to make it happen.
“There are those who seem to be in cahoots with the leader (Najib). We cannot trust them to take appropriate actions.
“Over 1.4 million people have signed our Citizens’ Declaration, but we were not allowed to meet the king.
“We understand that the palace is guarded by the police force which operates, ultimately, under the prime minister’s directives.
“So we hope the Rulers will give us, the people, a chance to explain things to them because so far we have not been given the chance.”
Mahathir, who ruled Malaysia with an iron-fist as prime minister for 22 years, has called for Najib’s resignation since the beginning of last year.
