Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should stop all funding for the Perdana Leadership Foundation, a non-profit body for former prime ministers, where Dr Mahathir Mohamad is currently honorary president.

 

Pertubuhan Minda Dan Sosial Prihatin (PMSP) adviser Ramesh Rao said this is because Mahathir is using the foundation as a platform to criticise the government. 

 

"Mahathir often forgets, the Perdana Leadership Foundation which he uses as a platform to speak in the country and overseas is fully funded by the Malaysian government, the ruling government, which is BN.

 

"They are the ones giving him money to speak. So it doesn't make sense for him to use government money to criticise the government. This doesn't make sense. This isn't right," Ramesh ( photo ) said in a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

 

He asked why the people’s money should be used to ruin the country, especially on baseless accusations.

 

Until now, none of the accusations against Najib, including the allegations that RM2.6 billion was deposited into his personal accounts from 1MDB, have any solid evidence backing them up, he said. 

 

In fact, the former PMSP president asked if Mahathir has forgotten his "advice" to de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim when the latter led the Reformasi rallies shortly after he was sacked as deputy prime minister by Mahathir.

 

"In 1998, (Mahathir) advised him (Anwar) to keep in mind the democratic practices that we have here. Has he forgotten?" Ramesh asked.

 

Last resort

On Monday, Mahathir had said that street demonstrations could be done to oust Najib but only as a last resort.

 

Mahathir had been a constant and vocal critic of Najib and his administration, especially of the 1MDB issues, since last year.

 

Ramesh said that it is not appropriate that Mahathir is now lambasting the government, after all he had done to suppress his dissenters during his time as prime minister, including Operation Lallang 1987 and the crackdown on the Reformasi rallies.

 

However, the Perdana Leadership Foundation should not be shut down completely as it is an internationally well-known organisation, Ramesh said.

 

Instead, he suggested that former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi or even former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam take over the foundation.