The country’s longest-serving MP Tengku Razaleigh has likened signing the Kelantan declaration to express support for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to signing an attendance book.

“I had joked when the book was sent to me. It’s like an attendance book. So I signed it, although it's part of the signing of the declaration,” Tengku Razaleigh said.

Asked why he had signed the declaration, he said he had signed it as a member of Umno and a party division leader.

Pressed further on why he chose to do so, Tengku Razaleigh said he has the right to sign any document he wants.

“This is a democracy, isn't it? I can sign any silly document. (And) I don’t think that it has any legal effect,” said the MP who is widely known as Ku Li.

Last Thursday, Ku Li, along with other Kelantan BN representatives, signed the declaration to express unwavering support for Najib amid growing calls for the PM to step down.

As for claims labelling him a “turncoat”, Ku Li pointed out that he was never in any movement.

“It (the declaration) is a normal document prepared by any political party. It's gimmicky, more than anything.

“I signed it as an Umno member. I am not in any group, apart from Umno. (So) how can anybody call me a turncoat?”

When pointed out that he had linked arms with Mahathir to condemn the use of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma), Ku Li said he attended the event because he did not agree with the detention of 1MDB critic Khairuddin Abu Hassan and his lawyer Matthias Chang under the Act.

“I was not happy with the detention of Khairuddin and Matthias (as) Sosma should not be used for such cases.

“I told Mahathir that I would attend the event on that basis,” he said.

Mahathir, Ku Li, as well as other top Umno leaders in October last year - in a joint statement clearly referring to Najib - said it was “shameful” for someone accused of a wrongdoing not to defend himself but to persecute others instead.

Khairuddin, who lodged reports against 1MDB locally and abroad, was charged with sabotaging the country's banking and financial system. Chang, who acted as his legal counsel, was jointly charged with him.

Asked whether he would sign the Citizens’ Declaration, Ku Li said he would not do so.

“I’m not signing it because I'm not part of it. I'm a member of Umno,” he said, although he declined to comment whether the movement was wrong or otherwise, stressing that he did not have the right to judge it.

He gave the same answer when asked to comment on former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s decision to be with the movement.

“If you want to judge a person, you can’t have prejudicial thinking. I’m not fit to judge him because I do not have all the facts on why he did what he did," Ku Li said.

Mahathir is responsible for spearheading the Save Malaysia movement, which, among others, is promoting the Citizens’ Declaration that calls for the resignation of Najib as prime minister.

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