'I'm being pressured to stay silent on current issues', says Dr M after questioning by cops

KUALA LUMPUR: After being questioned again by the police on Friday (Aug 18), former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad denied any wrongdoing and accused the authorities of pressuring him into staying silent about national issues.

Dr Mahathir was speaking to reporters after being questioned by the police on Friday (Aug 18) afternoon.

“The statements taken by the police are a form of pressure or threat to prevent me from speaking out regarding national issues.

“I was merely speaking based on clear facts and this is not against the law. I was talking about the constitution, where it stated that the country is a 'Tanah Melayu',” said Dr Mahathir during a press conference at the Al-Bukhary Foundation in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (Aug 18) afternoon.

Dr Mahathir is being questioned by the police over two Facebook postings on July 27 titled “Who owns the country” and “Malaysia, a Malay country”.

Commenting further, Dr Mahathir said he did not give many replies to the police during questioning.

“I did not answer much because if I’m charged, then I will answer in court,” added Dr Mahathir.

The nonagenarian, who spoke at length, also claimed that Malaysia is now known as a police state due to the government’s heavy-handed approach.

Dr Mahathir also accused Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of being a dictator.

“After over 60 years of independence, we did not become liberal but instead, we became an oppressive government led by someone who painted himself as a considerate person,” added Dr Mahathir.

The former premier also claimed that his remarks were not published in full by most media outlets, due to his criticism of the government.