Salleh rubbishes Dr M’s Najib ‘comeback’ suggestion

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah assembly speaker Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak has shot down Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s suggestion that Datuk Seri Najib Razak resign and only return as prime minister if 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is cleared of wrongdoing.

Salleh, a vocal supporter of Najib, wrote on his blog yesterday that everyone knew that a prime minister could not return to office after resigning, and that Dr Mahathir only wished for Najib to step down.

“The only thing Dr Mahathir wants is for Najib to resign and, as Dr Mahathir said, Najib can return as prime minister later once 1MDB has been given a clean bill of health,” wrote Salleh.

“We all know that is not possible. Once a prime minister resigns and hands over to his successor he stays resigned. There is no coming back unless he does so as the de facto prime minister and runs the country from behind the scenes.”

He said Dr Mahathir’s focus on removing Najib from power was the reason why there was no point in the two engaging in any sort of debate.

Salleh again defended Najib for not turning up at the “Nothing to Hide” dialogue with the public on 1MDB last Friday.

He said the prime minister needed to protect the dignity of his office and the fact that it was an “ambush debate” made it worse.

“A prime minister should not be invited for a function and then the function is secretly changed to something else without his knowledge or prior agreement. This was what the prime minister said in explaining why he did not turn up for last Friday’s dialogue-turned debate.

“Anyway, today Dr Mahathir said it very clearly. He was not really interested in any explanation regarding 1MDB. Therefore what is the purpose of a dialogue or debate?” said Salleh.

Dr Mahathir wrote on his blog yesterday that the “crisis” surrounding 1MDB could only be solved if Najib steps down, as no investigation could be carried out properly if he remained in power.

“If no crimes can be detected and all the money is returned, Najib can come back as prime minister and lead BN in the next election,” wrote Dr Mahathir.

He said the crisis would only worsen if Najib stayed on as prime minister, as Barisan Nasional would lose in the next election, resulting in an “anarchic situation” in the country.

1MDB is currently being investigated by Bank Negara, the Public Accounts Committee and also the auditor-general after accumulating debts of RM42 billion in just six years since its inception.