‘DPM not first to take dig at Dr M’s parentage’
KUALA LUMPUR:
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was not the first person to take a dig at Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s ancestry as Opposition leaders had been doing so for more than a decade, said political analyst Lim Sian See.
“There are some Pakatan Harapan people who are unhappy that DPM Zahid had mentioned about Mahathir being of Indian descent.
“Strangely, these self-righteous but blinkered people do not seem to mind when various Pakatan Rakyat people had insulted Mahathir on this for more than a decade,” said Lim in a Facebook post yesterday.
He also uploaded a video compiling a number of Opposition leaders highlighting the former premier’s lineage.
They included jailed Pakatan Harapan de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli and DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang.
On Sunday, Dr Ahmad Zahid took a dig at Dr Mahathir on his Indian parentage, accusing him of using the Malay community and Umno to further his political career during his time as prime minister.
He said this at the Kelana Jaya Umno division annual general assembly.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said Dr Ahmad Zahid was only divulging details already on public record.
“It is not an issue,” he said, adding that the information was not classified under the Official Secrets Act.
In a related development, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim said several reports had been lodged against Dr Ahmad Zahid over his remarks that the former prime minister’s original name was Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty.
The a/ l means “son of ”, an attribute in Indian’s identification cards.
The police, he said, would investigate the reports lodged.
“If there is any basis to the reports, we will investigate and take action,” said Noor Rashid after a flag handover ceremony to see off a team of police athletes to the World Police and Fire Games in Los Angeles, USA.
Noor Rashid said that by doing so, the police were being fair to parties who lodged reports and those who were affected by it, adding that the police needed to abide by the rule of law.