Dr M backing Anwar only shows his desperation, says MAICCI chief

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s (pic) show of support for the deputy he sacked decades ago only shows how desperate he is, says the Malaysian Associated Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

“Malaysian voters are mature enough to see through the latest ‘sandiwara’ (drama) by Tun Dr Mahathir, and I am confident they will see clearly through his recent deceitful actions and statements,” its president Tan Sri K. Kenneth Eswaran said in a statement Monday.

Kenneth alleged that Tun Dr Mahathir was actually worried about the recent announcement on the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry to look into the US$10bil (RM4.4bil) foreign exchange loss during his time as prime minister from 1981 to 2003.

“This is just an attempt to divert the attention away from the real issues,” he said.

British daily The Guardian last week quoted Dr Mahathir, who had sacked Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as deputy prime minister in 1998, as saying that he would not object to Anwar returning to politics and becoming prime minister if the latter was given a royal pardon.

The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairman also reportedly said that Anwar had been unfairly treated, and that he had regretted not allowing him to become premier.

Dr Mahathir has since denied The Guardian report, saying Anwar could not become the next prime minister as he needed to be released from jail first.