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Carrie Lam should resign over Hong Kong protests: Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad
- The Malaysian leader warns of a repeat of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown if unrest continues, saying ‘I think in the end, that is what China will do’
- He was responding to a question from Hong Kong Bar Association chairman Philip Dykes
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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has waded into the controversy over Hong Kong’s anti-government protests, saying on Friday that the city’s chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor should resign to ease tensions.
Asked for his views on the city’s troubles during a law conference, the 94-year-old leader raised the spectre of a repeat of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown by Beijing were the unrest to continue. Political analysts said the Malaysian prime minister’s comments – among the bluntest takes on the situation from a Southeast Asian leader – likely resonated across establishment circles in the region.
“The fact is that she [Lam] is in a dilemma. She has to obey her masters [but] at the same time, she has to ask her conscience,” Mahathir said.
He was responding to a question from Hong Kong Bar Association chairman Philip Dykes during a question-and-answer session after a keynote address.
Lam, speaking at a press conference in the afternoon to announce the city’s new law barring people from wearing masks at protests, said she had not seen reports about Mahathir’s comments but added that everyone has “freedom of speech”.
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