Dr M: We want to sack Muhyiddin from Bersatu, but in a proper way

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said that he and his supporters want to sack Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), but stressed that this would be done in a proper way.

“We want to sack him. We will have a proper sitting of the Supreme Council,” he told a press conference on Friday (May 29) after he was asked if he wanted Muhyiddin sacked for taking Bersatu out of Pakatan without the supreme council’s approval.

When asked if he would meet Muhyiddin, who is president of the party to settle their differences, Dr Mahathir said he was told that the former was being quarantined.

“Somebody with Covid-19 was near (him). Must be less than one metre. So now he is not able to see anybody for 14 days,” he said sarcastically.

The former prime minister, who was handed termination letters by executive secretary, Kapt (R) Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya, along with four other four former party leaders and MPs, said he came to the Bersatu headquarters here to discuss the letter.

"Suhaimi said that he would meet me, but then he said he is waiting for Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin. But both did not turn up.

"I did not expect to do this press conference, and then I was told that Hamzah was holding a PC at another place.

"The executive secretary seems to be more powerful than me as the chairman, and his work is actually just wiping and arranging tables for meetings.

"I now sack Suhaimi and appoint Datuk Shazmi Miah from Kelantan Bersatu to replace him as the new executive secretary.

"Bersatu has rules on Umno members who want to join the party. They must quit Umno and then apply to Bersatu, and they cannot hold any positions.

"Due to that, Hamzah (a former Umno member) cannot be secretary-general.

"The secretary-general is still Datuk Marzuki Yahya. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has made many mistakes," said Dr Mahathir to a room crowded with reporters.

Despite the presence of police and advice on social distancing, Dr Mahathir's PC saw a roomful of media personnel jostling for position.

When asked if he would bring matters to court, Dr Mahathir said they were worried about the recent deal with Riza Aziz, who faced money laundering charges in the 1MDB case but was recently granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal by the Sessions Courts.

“It was not a plea bargain.

"It was just a special arrangement in favour of the stepson of Datuk Seri Najib Razak. We are very concerned about going to the courts because we might come up against decisions which are unusual. But of course, that is going to be the new normal.

“The new normal is quite different from the old normal. We are people belonging to the old normal.

"You see me, I’m already 90 years old, so I belong to the old normal. But new normal is very difficult for us,” he said.

On whether they would file a complaint with the Registrar of Societies, Dr Mahathir said that they had come up with a statement that was unprecedented.

The Registrar of Societies (ROS), in a letter on May 5, said that Dr Mahathir was no longer the chairman of the party, following his resignation as party chairman and prime minister on Feb 24.

“We have rejected the finding of the ROS, so now we have to be very careful about referring to people who are, well, strong people in the government,” he said.