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Amy Chew

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak has dismissed claims by predecessor Mahathir Mohamad’s son, Mukhriz Mahathir, that he has no ambitions to become the country’s leader.
Mukhriz made the assertion in an interview published in yesterday’s South China Morning Post.
In the interview, Mukhriz responded to government claims that his father was behind allegations that Najib was involved in missing funds from the troubled 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), as part of an effort to unseat the prime minister so he could install his son.
Najib, who chairs 1MDB’s advisory board, has been plagued by allegations of corruption over the state investment firm and facing calls by Mahathir to step down over the firm’s massive 50 billion ringgit (HK$99.2 billion) debt.
“Mukhriz Mahathir told a foreign newspaper ... that he has no ambition to be prime minister. Why then did he contest to be Umno vice-president in 2013?” asked Najib’s press secretary Tengku Sariffuddin in a statement.
Umno is the largest party in the ruling coalition.

“Everyone in Malaysian politics knows that only someone who wants to be Umno president, and then by default prime minister, would stand to be vice-president. It is a key step on the ladder to the top,” Sariffuddin said.
‘It’s absurd’: Mukhriz Mahathir lashes Malaysian government’s claims he has plotted with his father to take top job
Umno has three vice-presidents. Mukhriz ran for one of the positions in October 2013 but lost.
On Wednesday, Mukhriz told the Post that allegations he wanted to be prime minister were “absurd”, saying it was public knowledge that Mahathir did not allow his family members to get involved in politics when he was in office to avoid accusations of nepotism. Mahathir stepped down in 2003 after 22 years in power.

“You would think that if [Mahathir] had such ambitions for me, he could have easily done it while he was in power,” he said.
In March this year, activists and opposition politicians joined Mahathir in launching the Save Malaysia campaign to pressure the country’s Sultans – the traditional rulers – to get Najib to step down over the 1MDB scandal.
Najib called upon Mahathir to name an alternative candidate for the premiership if he wants to end speculation that calls for his ouster are not attempts to make Mukhriz the next prime minister.

“Mahathir ... must at least give a straight answer on who the alternative candidate is,” Sariffuddin said. “Why is he consistently evasive about his plans for ... Mukhriz‘s political future,” he asked. “He should stop this distraction for Malaysia and quietly retire with the grace people expect of a former statesman.
“It is the people, not one man, who under our constitution are entitled to democratically choose their government and prime minister,” Sariffuddin said.
In the event a sitting prime minister is removed, under Malaysia’s parliamentary democracy, the king will appoint someone who in his opinion commands the confidence of the lower house.
“The convention that has been developed is that whichever party wins the elections, it’s leader then is invited by the King to be Prime Minister,” said law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi of the University Technology Mara.
“In the Malaysian context, it will have to be Umno, that will have to decide who is going to lead Umno, and that person will be eligible under article 143 of constitutional law [to] be invited to form the government,” adds Professor Faruqi.
Mahathir left Umno in February this year.


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Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak. Photo: Reuters

epa05253865 (FILE) A file photo dated 02 April 2016 shows former Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad (2-R) speaking to supporters during an anti-GST (Goods and Services Tax) rally to commemorate one-year anniversary of its implementation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. According to media reports on 11 April 2016, Mahathir is under four separate police investigations for offenses including his recent call for foreign intervention in Malaysia's domestic affairs. According to an Inspector-General of Police (IGP) the offenses Mahathir was being investigated over was sedition, but did not elaborate on the rest of the charges. EPA/AHMAD YUSNI

Malaysia's elected member of parliament Mukhriz Mahathir (R) receives a memento from his father, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, ... Photo Reuters

‘It’s absurd’: Mukhriz Mahathir lashes Malaysian government’s claims he has plotted with his father to take top job

Mukhriz Mahathir (right) with his father, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: Reuters

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak attends an event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in this March 14, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Olivia Harris/Files

Saudi foreign minister confirms massive ‘donation’ to Najib

Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak reacting during an event in Kuala Lumpur on March 20. Photo: EPA

epa05226842 A picture made available on 23 March 2016 shows Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak during an event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 20 March 2016. Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad filed a lawsuit 23 March against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, alleging interference in government investigations into suspected corruption linked to the debt-laden state fund 1MDB and the transfer of RM 2.6 billion (about $652 million) into his personal accounts. Najib has denied any wrongdoing, and was cleared earlier this year of any criminal offense or corruption. EPA/FAZRY ISMAIL

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, holds a press conference with his South African counterpart on March 27, 2016 in Riyadh. / AFP PHOTO / FAYEZ NURELDINE

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The Malaysian government issues a direct response to the South China Morning Post over comments by Mahathir Mohamad’s son, Mukhriz Mahathir
