Mahathir is No 1 actor: Najib

Jerantut, Pahang

FORMER prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is Malaysia's No 1 actor for befriending his nemesis Anwar Ibrahim, said Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Mr Najib reminded the people that Dr Mahathir's act of making public amends with former deputy prime minister Anwar showed that he was someone whom the people cannot trust.

"He previously lambasted Anwar as the worst kind of person. Then suddenly at court, he shook hands with Anwar. What is this?" he was reported as saying by The New Straits Times.

"He is No 1 actor. Best actor. This kind of person cannot be relied on. One must have ethics.

"I am not making this up. This is fact. I cannot do it but he can," said Mr Najib, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman.

He was speaking at a meet-the-people's programme in Pahang on Wednesday.

Mr Najib was referring to Dr Mahathir shaking hands with Mr Anwar at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Sept 5, 2016.The public rapprochement was significant in light of the fallout between Dr Mahathir and Anwar when the latter was kicked out of the government in 1998.

Before an audience of over 2,000 residents, Mr Najib reminded them that Dr Mahathir was merely being used by DAP to split the Malays in the run-up to the 14th General Election (GE14).

He said this is critical as the people would either have a choice of BN, which had successfully administered the country for several decades, or the DAP-led opposition coalition under Pakatan Harapan.

"Dr Mahathir is being used by DAP to split Malay support. DAP is trying to show it is being friendly with the Malays. This is just a lie.

"Does DAP like Islam or not? Does it help those in the rural areas?" asked Mr Najib rhetorically.