Opposition trapped, try to get foreign support — Najib
KUALA LUMPUR: The meeting between Pakatan Harapan chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and ambassadors and representatives of European Union ( EU) countries recently is seen as an attempt to seek foreign support in case the outcome of the 14th General Election (GE14) does not favour the opposition, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
The Prime Minister said the meeting was held because the opposition was now trapped as it did not have any opportunity domestically and had to resort to foreign support.
“They have to use foreign power, appeal to the foreign power with the hope that any decision from the coming general election could be considered as something that could be disputed.
“They want to create controversy and they want to play out the people as though our system (of election) is unfair,”said the Umno president at a media conference after chairing the Umno Supreme Council meeting, here yesterday.
He was commenting on Dr Mahathir’s meeting which was also attended by several other opposition party leaders with 14 ambassadors and three representatives of EU countries at the federal capital on Jan 26.
At the meeting, the opposition was reported to have urged the European countries to request the Malaysian government to allow them to send international election observers for GE14.
Najib subsequently said Dr Mahathir must realise that the election system practised in the country currently was the same as the one that had elevated him to become prime minister for 22 years.
Thus, he said it was strange for the chairman of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia ( PPBM) to criticise the country’s election system especially as the system today had been strengthened to be more transparent.
“We have polling agents, we have counting agents and we have the ink system and so on, thus the opportunity to cheat can be said to be non- existent. How can they say that the general election is unfair.
“The question is that why for 22 years he ( Dr Mahathir) did not complain about the EC ( Election Commission) system at that time... and it is the same system that we practise today, in fact much better than before,” the Prime Minister said.
Meanwhile, Najib questioned the capability of PPBM to take over the role played by Umno and Barisan Nasional in administering the country as the newly- formed party was seen to be facing conflicts in its administration.
“If we look at the principles of the party’s constitution, if we want to make our own constitution, we have to abide by our constitution. But I am told that at the branch level, at the divisional level, they ( PPBM) did not have any meeting but there is an assembly at the national level.
“We do not know from where the delegates came and how they chose the delegates to the assembly at the national level,” he added. — Bernama