Ex-CJ accuses Dr M of hypocrisy, claims Pakatan rents crowds
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Chief Justice of Malaya Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad criticised the negativity prevalent in Malaysian politics yesterday, saying politicians were increasingly utilising hate and malice for their campaigns.
In a statement posted on his official website, the 76-year-old said he has never been a fan of political speeches but felt these have developed a toxicity that that was now ubiquitous.
“If you wish to listen to malicious things, tune in to political speeches during this period. Please don’t bank on ‘golongan ulama’ (religious scholars), they are also the same.
“If we accept everything that comes out of their mouths, it will just prove that all of them, regardless of political parties, are the same,” he said in the statement.
Shifting his aim to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, he accused the latter of seeking to destroy Umno and the Malay community in his desire to oust Datuk Seri Najib Razak from power.
Abdul Hamid, who was chief justice from 2006 to 2008, also questioned the positioning of Dr Mahathir as the man to save Malaysia, noting that it was the former prime minister who was responsible for the erosion of key institutions that previously served as safeguards to excesses by the government.
Among others, he accused Dr Mahathir of interfering with Malaysia’s judiciary and his role in the 1988 constitutional crisis that arose from the sacking of then Lord President Tun Salleh Abas.
He also questioned the authenticity of crowd images from Pakatan Harapan’s ceramahs, suggesting that these were artificially inflated.
“I also asked a Langkawi resident, who is a BN supporter, if the people who came to Dr M’s Langkawi event are locals or outsiders. He told me that a majority was imported and placed at Pantai Cenang for the night,” he said.
Abdul Hamid further suggested that the attendees were not even Malaysians, saying his observation of Dr Mahathir’s ceramah in Putrajaya found that attendees did not resemble the typical resident of the country’s federal administrative capital.
“To me, that is not how Putrajaya folks should act or behave. They are civil servants, mostly in their 40’s.
“Even if they go to hear Dr M talk, I believe they would be donning collared shirt, not bringing incense and listen quietly instead of shouting ‘reformasi’,” before concluding they were likely foreigners paid to pad up the crowd.
He said his observation echoes Barisan Nasional chairman Najib’s allegation that tens of buses were seen transporting outsiders into Putrajaya that night.
Abdul Hamid, who chaired a 2004 Federal Court hearing on the first sodomy case involving Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, also said the attendees in Putrajaya resembled those protesting during the case.
He also targeted the apparent hypocrisy in the collaboration between Dr Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan leaders, noting that they had criticised each other bitterly before joining forces.