Batu Puteh: Puad questions PKR MP's stance to not report Dr M to police

Summary:

• Umno leader Mohd Puad Zarkashi disagrees with PKR MP Hassan Abdul Karim, who opposed reporting former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to the police over the Batu Puteh issue.

• Hassan defended Mahathir, emphasising the latter’s past achievements.

• Amanah Youth stressed the importance of seeking justice over personal loyalty, asserting that protecting national sovereignty should take precedence.

Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi has questioned PKR MP Hassan Abdul Karim’s stance to not report Dr Mahathir Mohamad to the police for ceding Batu Puteh’s sovereignty to Singapore.

Puad (above), in a statement, disagreed with the Pasir Gudang lawmaker’s view.

“He (Hassan) said Mahathir’s contributions were far too great. He made Putrajaya and built highways that MPs used to go back to Perlis and Johor.

“Did (first prime minister) Tunku Abdul Rahman not contribute to the nation? But it was Mahathir who vehemently accused Rahman of selling the country’s sovereignty to (first Singapore prime minister) Lee Kuan Yew. What’s with that?” he asked.

Puad was responding to remarks made by Hassan in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday opposing the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations to report the former premier to the police.

“When it is recommended that a police report be filed and criminal action be taken against Mahathir, who is nearly 100 years old and is frequently in and out of the National Heart Institute (IJN), are we willing to do this to our former prime minister?

“Tan Sri (Johari Abdul) knows that I am not a fan of Mahathir; I have been a staunch critic of him since my youth. However, we must be fair,” Hassan reportedly said in his debate on the Batu Puteh RCI motion.

He also reminded the MPs of Mahathir’s contributions to the country.

“Didn’t he contribute to this country? Many of the ministers here, their offices are in Putrajaya.

“Who built it? After we finish debating this evening (yesterday evening), some will go back to Kangar, and others will go back to Johor Bahru. Who built the highways?” he asked.

‘Justice’

Echoing Puad’s sentiments, Amanah Youth vice-chief Ammar Atan lamented the opposition against lodging a police report against Mahathir.

In a statement today, he stressed it has nothing to do with politics but about seeking justice.

“This doesn’t mean we don’t recognise Mahathir’s past contributions. It’s about showing no one can evade responsibility for their actions.

“Protecting our nation’s sovereignty is above any personal interest or loyalty to an individual,” he added.

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