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Sabah speaker: PM right to dodge Dr M's ambush
Published:  Jun 11, 2015 3:21 PM
Updated: 9:25 AM

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak did the right thing in not engaging Dr Mahathir Mohamad in a public debate during last week's botched dialogue session dubbed 'Nothing to Hide', Sabah Speaker Salleh Said Keruak said.

"There is such a thing called the dignity of the office. For example, in the military you salute the uniform and not the person. That means the rank of that person is given respect and not that person in his personal capacity.

"Simultaneously, the person holding a certain position or rank must also protect the dignity of that position or rank. Basically, you protect the dignity of your office.

"And that is why it would have been improper for Najib to engage in a public debate with Mahathir," Salleh ( photo ) added in a blog post.

He claimed it was not a scheduled debate but an "ambush" because initially, it was just supposed to be a dialogue with the prime minister.

Salleh said a prime minister should not be invited for a function and then the programme be secretly changed to something else without his knowledge or prior agreement.

Dr M not interested

"This was what the prime minister said in explaining why he did not turn up for last Friday's dialogue turned debate," he added.

Anyway, Salleh said, Mahathir's latest blog posting made it clear that he was not interested in any explanation regarding 1MDB.

"Therefore what was the purpose of a dialogue or debate? The only thing Mahathir wants is for Najib to resign and, as Mahathir said, Najib can return as prime minister later, once 1MDB has been given a clean bill of health," he added.

However, Salleh said there is no turning back when a prime minister relinquishes his post.

"We all know that is not possible. Once a prime minister resigns and hands over to his successor, he stays resigned.

"There is no coming back unless he does so as the de facto prime minister and runs the country from behind the scenes," he added.

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