Mahathir: I'll wait and see if there's no-confidence vote
Malaysian PM's comments come after claims by PAS of impending move against him within ruling coalition
KUALA LUMPUR Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad has decided to take the wait-and-see approach following claims by an opposition party of an impending Pakatan Harapan (PH) move to topple him.
"I will wait and see if there is a vote of no-confidence. I will see if PAS (Parti Islam SeMalaysia) will support me or not," he said yesterday in response to statements by the Islamist party, pledging support in the event of a betrayal from within PH.
PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said a "sample" letter of support given to Dr Mahathir - which the PM affirmed - during a meeting last Friday with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, was to indicate "backing" only in the event of "a vote of no confidence".
"We know Parliament will resume in March, and this began with Dr Mahathir's statement. Tun mentioned it (betrayal) and politicians understand," Mr Takiyuddin said on Sunday.
Mr Takiyuddin said the alleged betrayal could come from "two component parties" within PH but declined to reveal which.
His comments drew a scathing response from PH's allies including Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chief Anwar Ibrahim, who said such claims were lies.
Mr Anwar said the motive behind the claims is aimed at covering up the allegations that PAS had received millions from Umno.
In a separate development, Dr Mahathir said the Cabinet has agreed to form a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to look into allegations of judicial misconduct.
This comes after a top judge raised the alarm over claims of abuse and interference in the judiciary.
"We are setting up the RCI and it's up to them to look into the allegations made by the judge," Dr Mahathir said.
"We will set up the RCI and the terms will be determined later," he added.
The setting up of the RCI comes after Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer alleged that senior judges intervened in the decision of numerous trials.
He made the allegation in a 65-page affidavit that was filed on Feb 14 in support of an application by the late MP Karpal Singh's daughter, Ms Sangeet Singh Deo, to declare the Chief Justice had failed to defend the integrity of the judiciary in court cases.
Dr Hamid claimed that the scams were carried out by nominees of politicians getting into contracts with the government.
Once the government pulled out of a deal, the private parties would take the government to court to claim compensation.
He alleged that these private parties created contracts with the government to defraud public funds and the apex court was perceived to be sympathetic to them.
Soon after Mr Hamid's revelations, legal experts and politicians called for an RCI to probe the allegations. - THE STAR
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