Azmin slammed for showing disrespect to Dr M

KOTA KINABALU: Tan Sri Muhyid­din Yassin has taken PKR vice-president Azmin Ali to task for remarks that allegedly deride Tun Dr Maha­thir Mohamad.

The Deputy Prime Minister said Azmin had shown disrespect to Dr Mahathir for describing the elderly statesman as a “fallen leader”.

“The statement is contradictory to our values and should not have been uttered because we must show respect.

“I don’t know if it is the PKR stand not to give such respect. It seems, for political purposes, they can justify anything,” he said here yesterday.

Azmin had reportedly said in his speech at the opening of the Gombak PKR annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday that a certain “fallen leader” was lying in a hospital in Australia.

Met by reporters after the gathering, Azmin admitted that he was referring to Dr Mahathir, who is recuperating at the Epworth Hospital in Melbourne, where he was warded for chest infection.

Azmin, who is going for the PKR deputy presidency in the ongoing party polls, reportedly said he was “putting it mildly” because the former prime minister supported the Malay rights group Perkasa.

He was quoted by the media as saying that Dr Mahathir had stubbornly supported a group that championed a narrow-minded racial cause.

“It clearly shows their attitude, which places little attention to moral values,” Muhyiddin said when asked to comment on the remarks.

“But for us (in the Barisan Nasional), we place priority on human values and give due respect to a statesman who has sacrificed a lot for the country, no matter what his views may be on various issues.”