Dr Mahathir: I’ve excused Najib for crooked bridge but not 1MDB

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pic) does not blame Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak over the failure of the crooked bridge project but says that the Prime Minister must account for 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

"I wrote about 1MDB but people say 'Oh, he is unhappy not with 1MDB but with the crooked bridge. I don't advocate the removal of a prime minister because he is too afraid of Singapore to build a crooked bridge.

"I am sympathetic towards him because he is very weak and so cannot build the bridge brick by brick. So for that I excuse him – but when you lose money and cannot explain where the money is, I think you are not competent to become prime minister," Dr Mahathir said after the launch of the two-day Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War international forum at Putra World Trade Centre.

The former premier also expressed his concern for Umno ahead of the next general election.

"We are faced with this choice: either you remove a prime minister who has failed and who will lead to Umno losing the next election, or you take your chance that if he goes off we may be able to revive Umno," he said.

In a special interview with TV3 last week, Najib said Dr Mahathir’s attacks against him could have been triggered by their disagreement on the crooked bridge and the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) cash handouts.