Najib a coward and unfit to be PM, says Mahathir

MANCHESTER - FORMER Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad has said he has second thoughts about Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak becoming prime minister as he has failed to speak up about the real reasons behind Barisan Nasional's losses in the general election.

Tun Dr Mahathir claimed that Datuk Seri Najib was not 'brave enough' to directly say anything that was not liked by his boss, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

He added he had initially insisted that Datuk Seri Najib be appointed as DPM because he believed he was a capable person. 'But now, we see that he is a penakut (coward),' said Tun Dr Mahathir.

'He is always saying, 'yes sir, yes sir, saya sokong, saya sokong (I support, I support)'.'

He added that when PM Abdullah blamed BN's losses on sabotage, Datuk Seri Najib merely concurred.

He cited another instance when the DPM gave his full support for Malaysia to build a bridge to Singapore despite the Republic's disagreement.

But Datuk Seri Najib suddenly changed his mind when PM Abdullah decided against the project.

'I believe he should rightly explain the real reasons for Barisan's losses in the election,' Tun Dr Mahathir said when asked about why he changed his mind about Datuk Seri Najib after giving a talk on Malay, Malaysian and Malaysia: Challenges Ahead at the University of Manchester on Saturday.

Tun Dr Mahathir had earlier this month withdrawn his support for Datuk Seri Najib to be prime minister.

However, he said that if PM Abdullah were to step down now, it would pave the way for a smooth transition as Datuk Seri Najib would succeed him in accordance with Umno tradition.

Tun Dr Mahathir also felt that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim would not be the sole candidate for prime minister if Pakatan Rakyat were to win the next general election.

He believed there were candidates from Parti Islam SeMalaysia as well as the Democratic Action Party's Lim Guan Eng who were eyeing the same position.

'Anwar thinks he will be prime minister,' said Tun Dr Mahathir. 'It is not that they love him, but it is a marriage of convenience.'

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
The Straits Times
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