PETALING JAYA. Aug 21: Dr Mahathir Mohamad says neither Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim nor former premier Najib Razak is able to strengthen Malaysia’s sovereignty.
In a video interview with student Farid Aziz, Mahathir was asked who among the three he believed could strengthen the country’s sovereignty.
“None of them,” he said, in a quick-fire question-and-answer session.
He was also asked which ruling coalition was the strongest and fairest, between Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional.
To this, he replied: “BN in the early days.”
When asked to describe a good attribute of Anwar, Mahathir said he was ambitious, adding that his former deputy chose to join Umno as he knew he could not become prime minister if he was in PAS.
“That’s why he chose to join Umno, and I received him and promoted him to deputy prime minister. He was supposed to replace me when I resigned,” he said.
“But before that, incidents happened that led to him being brought to court, and that hindered him from becoming prime minister.”
Mahathir described Najib as a talented and capable leader but said the former prime minister’s way of gaining popularity among the people by giving out money was an “unsuitable idea” for a leader.
Mahathir also called on Malaysian youth to be more involved and aware of local developments, telling them that ignoring such matters would be irresponsible on their part.
“What happens in the country will have an effect on them later on. That’s why they have to care about what’s happening around them,” he said.
“Or else, they will be controlled by people who have their own agendas, which may not be good for the country.”
