Best to retire quietly, PM’s aide tells Dr M

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — Hailed as an “Asian tiger” in his prime, Dr Mahathir Mohamad should now do himself and the country a favour by embracing retirement quietly in his old age, the press secretary to Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Monday (Feb 27).

Mr Sarifuddin Tengku Ahmad chided the former leader for running down his own country for personal gain in his latest blog post when the latter wrongly claimed Malaysia to be among the top 10 most corrupt countries in the world.

“In fact, in Transparency International’s latest list, Malaysia is the 55th LEAST corrupt country in the world,” Mr Sarifuddin pointed out in a statement.

“So Mahathir is either lying, or he can no longer understand what is fact and what is fabricated,” he added.

Mr Sarifuddin noted that this was not the first time Dr Mahathir had been caught making unfounded statements.

He pointed out that in recent months, Dr Mahathir has been making “embarrassing” about-turns on many issues he once insisted were correct, to the point that Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor was moved to suggest the 91-year-old was senile.

Mr Sarifuddin cited Dr Mahathir’s close association with federal Opposition leaders like DAP’s Lim Kit Siang and PKR’s Anwar Ibrahim to bring down the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition he once led as examples of such U-turns.

“The reality is that Malaysians cannot believe anything U-turn Mahathir says anymore. His words have become embarrassing for all to hear.

“The old tiger would serve himself and his nation better by retiring quietly,” he added. MALAY MAIL ONLINE