Salleh Said Keruak has taken a jab at former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for thinking that he has the right to remove Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
The communications and multimedia minister said this stemmed from Dr Mahathir's belief that he was the one who had worked hard to make Najib the prime minister.
This, he said, sounded like what people say in the United States that "If I can hire, then I can fire."
"Actually this is not true and is a fallacy. Dr Mahathir is not Najib's boss or employer who can just sack him as he pleases," he said in a posting on his blog .
Some, he said, might even call it delusional that one man could think he decided who should or should not lead the country, as if the democratic system in how the country's leaders and governments were chosen no longer existed.
"Dr Mahathir can probably make that claim when it comes to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. After all, he did appoint Abdullah as his deputy and eventually resigned and handed the country to Abdullah," he said.
Salleh said it was Abdullah who appointed Najib as his deputy, and if anyone could claim that he made Najib the prime minister, then probably Abdullah was the one who could make that claim.
The minister noted that in 2013, Najib led BN in the general election and the ruling coalition won that election.
"So, in 2013, it was the people or the voters, and not Dr Mahathir, who made Najib the prime minister. Dr Mahathir was just one voter among 11 million voters," he said.
Salleh further said it was Umno that chose Najib as its president, therefore making him the legitimate leader of Umno elected by the members.
"At least there're no allegations of fraud during the party elections and Najib did not deregister Umno to cover up that fraud like what Bapa Merdeka, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, alleged Dr Mahathir did in 1987," he said.
He also dismissed Mahathir's assertions that Najib must cease to be prime minister if the currency and the economy were to recover and cost of living to go down.
'Mahathir's Jew-blaming akin to Hitler'
The communications and multimedia minister also took exception to the former prime minister's stance that it was totally democratic to demand for Najib's removal.
Salleh said this was exactly what the opposition used to say about Dr Mahathir himself.
"In fact, (opposition figure) Anwar Ibrahim blamed all the country's social, political and financial problems on Dr Mahathir and even accused Dr Mahathir for the lack of democracy and civil liberties.
"Some even say that all the problems the country is currently facing are Dr Mahathir's legacy," Salleh said.
Salleh also recalled a time when Dr Mahathir refused to take responsibility for the collapse of the ringgit, blaming the Jews for it.
"This was exactly what Hitler did when he blamed Germany’s problems on the Jews. This is starting to become very tiring and comical," the minister said.
- Bernama
Related reports
Kadir: Najib will stay as long as he can control rural folk
Let family visit Khairuddin, urges Hakam
No opposition leaders featured in programme, CNA tells minister
