A senior Umno leader has dismissed Dr Mahathir Mohamad's claim that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is clinging to power because he fears prosecution should he step down.

        

On the contrary, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Deputy Minister Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said, Najib "is man enough" to remain at the helm to solve the nation's problems.

"If he just steps down, then he is a coward. He will not be a man and a prime minister who is responsible enough to face the challenges," Tajuddin ( photo ) told Malaysiakini .

In a video clip uploaded recently, Mahathir said, "I have given advice, I have even threatened but he said he won't quit."

"Because he can't quit. I think he is scared. Maybe he might face a criminal charge, if he quits."

The video was recorded at a closed-door meeting Mahathir held with some 50 NGOs in Putrajaya last week.

Tajuddin said Najib wanted to tackle the problems to ensure that the country is safe.

"If the problems are not solved, then it will impact on the economy and foreign investments.

"Don't you think this is courage on his part to show responsibility? If he runs away, he is not a gentleman.

"It's not good to pass the problems to others. This is the accountability and responsible culture we are trying to promote," he added.

Tajuddin also questioned how Mahathir knew what the prime minister was thinking.

"Can Mahathir feel and think for Najib?" he asked.

Tajuddin also argued that being prime minister would not make Najib immune from criminal investigation and prosecution.

"We have the authority to investigate anybody. Even a prime minister can also be investigated.

"We have the system, we have the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and police. Are you saying that all the authorities are afraid (of the PM)," he asked.

Najib has reached point of no return

Meanwhile, PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli said he understood the reason why Najib was reluctant to step down.

 

"It is difficult for Najib to extricate himself from the 1MDB debacle because the company's Memorandum & Article of Association (M&A) has clearly stated that Najib is responsible for all the major decisions of 1MDB including on investments and debts.

"Given that Bank Negara has commenced an official investigation on 1MDB, at the very least there is an investigation that will implicate Najib to the mismanagement of 1MDB," Rafizi said.

Worse, he said, Najib's refusal to resign has plunged Umno into its worse crisis so far and this created a lot of bad blood.

"It is unlikely that this squabbling will end peacefully in Umno, so if Najib is brought down it will be in a very messy circumstance - this makes it less likely that he is allowed to escape investigation when he steps down

"Given all these events, it is perfectly understandable that Najib will resist stepping down because he has reached a point of no return," Rafizi told Malaysiakini .