Malaysia lashes out at Azizah for flaying Mahathir
Malaysia lashes out at Azizah for flaying Mahathir
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Premier Mahathir Mohamad warned opposition
leader Azizah Ismail on Friday not to encourage other countries
to meddle in Malaysia's internal affairs.
"Looks like there are those who subscribe the view that
foreigners should meddle in domestic issues," Mahathir said in
the northern state of Kedah.
"We thought our country is free and independent and the people
of Malaysia will decide her fate but we find they are interested
to obtain the support of foreign countries," he added.
Najib Tun Razak, vice president of Mahathir's United Malays
National Organization, was even more scathing about comments made
by Azizah, the wife of jailed former deputy premier Anwar
Ibrahim, during a visit to Manila this week.
"Making wild allegations and defaming the country's leaders
like drawing parallels between Mahathir and Ferdinand Marcos is
going off the limit and unfounded," he said.
Najib described the remarks by Azizah as inappropriate and
reflecting her lack of patriotism and love for Malaysia.
Azizah told businessmen in the Philippines that Mahathir and
his "desperate cabal" will stop at nothing to destroy Anwar's
political career and his character.
She said Filipinos understand what injustice was like having
endured 20 years of dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos, and that
like many Filipinos then, Anwar was only trying to "reform the
system from within."
Azizah's three-day visit from Wednesday is at the invitation
of the local Rotary Club and she also met Philippine President
Joseph Estrada.
Estrada said on Friday that he had exchanged letters with
jailed Malaysian dissident leader Anwar Ibrahim while meeting
with Anwar's wife.
The three-day visit by Azizah Ismail to the Philippines
clearly angered the Malaysian government.
Najib said Mahathir should not be compared with Marcos.
"Judging from facts, we can see that under Mahathir, there has
been lots of progress and development whereas under Marcos' rule,
the situation in the Philippines was the reverse," the official
Bernama news agency quoted the education minister as saying.
Najib also said Azizah's action could create problems for the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region by dragging
a member nation into interfering in the domestic affairs of
another member.
"We hope that leaders of ASEAN nations appreciate their
bilateral relations in the context of ASEAN which upholds the
principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of member
countries," he said.
Anwar, 51, was sentenced two weeks ago to six years in jail
for corruption and was back in court Tuesday to face a new charge
of sodomy.
He was fired by Mahathir in early September, triggering the
biggest anti-government protests here in decades and culminating
in his arrest on Sept. 20.