Kuala lumpur, June 14 – Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad wants his successor Najib Tun Razak and his administration to stop “giving face” to Pakatan Rakyat.
He wants Najib to be “tough” with the opposition.
He claimed the opposition was continuously insulting the country’s democratic system and the government should no longer be soft with them..
“We need to be a bit tough and not give them face anymore. They must be stopped,” he told reporters here yesterday after attending a dinner in conjunction with Langkawi International Dialogue (LID) 2013 here yesterday.
Mahathir said the opposition had changed overnight after failing to get majority support in the 13th general election.
“Initially, they wanted to recognise the people’s choice but now they want to topple the government.
“They reject the democratic system and opt for street demonstration,” he said alluding to the series of nationwide rallies following the May 5 GE13 results..
Pakatan, whilst drawing 51% of popular votes, failed to wrest Putrajaya from Barisan Nasional.
In the first-past-the-polls election system practiced here, BN secured 133 seats in the 222 seater parliament to remain as the country’s ruling regime.
Pakatan locked down 89 seats. DAP was the biggest winner securing 38 seats followed by PKR’s 30. PAS managed 21.
A deeply disappointed Anwar Ibrahim, who is PKR de facto chief, immediately launched a series of rallies decrying the results.
The rallies across the country has seen the attendance of tens and thousands of Malaysians.
Election petitions
Meanwhile PKR has commenced with filing its election petitions. It is expected to contest the results in 27 parliamentary seats nationwide.
In Sabah and Sarawak the party is seeking to nullify the results in five parliamentary constituencies. In Sabah they are contesting the outcomes of polls in Beaufort, Kota Marudu, Pensiangan and Kudat parliamentary constituencies. In Sarawak, PKR is contesting the Baram results.
In the May 5 polls, the opposition coalition secured three parliamentary seats in Sabah and eight in Sarawak. They could have won more if not for the split votes.
– FREE MALAYSIA TODAY
