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Bersih 5 appearance just Dr M’s latest U-turn, says Malaysia's Najib

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak on Sunday (Nov 20) pointed out the discrepancy between Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s attendance at the Bersih 5 rally on Saturday and the latter’s previous views about public dissent.

Mr Najib at the UMNO Supreme Council anniversary in May 2015. Photo: The Malaysian Insider

Mr Najib at the UMNO Supreme Council anniversary in May 2015. Photo: The Malaysian Insider

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KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak on Sunday (Nov 20) pointed out the discrepancy between Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s attendance at the Bersih 5 rally on Saturday and the latter’s previous views about public dissent.

Mr Najib said that the former prime minister’s willingness to participate in the street protest on Saturday was a clear departure from how the latter had treated such activities during his 22-year rule.

“It is a long list of U-turns that he has done and will continue to do,” Mr Najib wrote on his personal blog on Sunday.

He also rejected Dr Mahathir’s description of the country as being in a crisis, saying that this view was not shared by global agencies such as the World Bank or International Monetary Fund.

Either organisation would have criticised Putrajaya were Malaysia in as much trouble as Dr Mahathir claimed, Mr Najib said when pointing out that this was not the case.

“Therefore, our administration of the country is going well. There is room for improvement, but on the whole we are managing the country properly and in a way that gives confidence to ratings agencies,” the prime minister added.

Aside from personally attending the Bersih 5 rally and giving a speech there on Saturday, Dr Mahathir had also appeared in a video urging the public to participate in the rally to demand Mr Najib’s resignation.

Following Bersih 3 in 2012, Dr Mahathir had warned that such protests were a sign of the violence that would occur if the federal opposition parties won power in Malaysia.

He had also suggested that then Bersih 2.0 chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan be made prime minister.

“That way we can have demonstrations every day at Dataran Merdeka,” he said mockingly. MALAY MAIL ONLINE

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