Dr M dragging in Tunku over Project IC a cowardly act

PKR says former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is an “unscrupulous manipulator of history” for using first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman's name to justify the issuing of identity cards (IC) to foreigners in Sabah.

“The latest statement by Dr Mahathir Mohamad to clear himself of any wrongdoing in the clandestine IC scam under probe by the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) shows him to be arrogant, unrepentant and an unscrupulous manipulator of history.

“Dr Mahathir’s attempt to drag the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, into the mud is despicable and cowardly.

“He is trying to pull wool over the eyes of the rakyat by equating the IC scam, conducted shadily under his watch as prime minister, with the granting of citizenship in Peninsular Malaysia during the Tunku’s time,” PKR deputy president Azmin Ali (left) said in a statement today.

Commenting on testimonies emerging from the Sabah RCI yesterday, Mahathir admited that he had indeed given out ICs to Filipinos during his administration, but claimed the move was legitimate.

However, he did not comment on the IC-for-votes allegations raised, and instead justified his actions as above board and said that Tunku Abdul Rahman had done worse by giving citizenships to one million unqualified people, referring to non-Malays, in Peninsular Malaysia during his tenure.

The RCI over the past week heard testimonies about illegal immigrants in Sabah having been issued ICs and other documents that had allowed them to vote, purportedly to help BN wrest and maintain power in the Borneo state since the 90s and for Umno to take root there.

Dr M's 'red herring'

Azmin said Malaysians were able to differentiate between a “shady operation shrouded in secrecy that was criminal, and one that was done in accordance with a collective decision during the formative period of our history of independence”.

Added the Gombak MP: “In any event, the Tunku is not the subject of inquiry, whereas the IC project is. So, Dr Mahathir must stop throwing red herrings in the path just to distract us from the key issue.”

Azmin reminded that the testimonies during the RCI have alleged how perpetrators in the IC-for-votes “scam” stayed at the house of Mahathir’s political secretary Aziz Shamsuddin and “used it as the operations centre to issue the fake ICs”.

“Equally shocking is the testimony that (then-deputy home minister) Megat Junid Megat Ayub had instructed NRD senior officers to issue the IC receipts.

“Aziz Shamsuddin and Megat Junid could not have embarked on a scam of such a magnitude without clearance from the man they would have to report to at that time and that would be none other than Dr Mahathir,” said Azmin.

Calling Mahathir’s response yesterday a “red herring”, the PKR deputy chief repeated his call for the former PM to be investigated for “treason” for “for selling out our sovereignty”.