The Malaysian Insight

DR Mahathir Mohamad said he had no intention of seeking a return to power when he proposed a National Operations Council (NOC) to run the country, during his audience with the king last week.

The two-time prime minister said his suggestion to Yang Di Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah was made based on his experience of running the country for more than two decades.

“I was only trying to serve, I wasn’t thinking about myself. What I really want for myself is to rest to enjoy life like others.

“However, this (the country’s situation) is a problem that requires people who have had experience. I have had a lot of experience, I know what it is like to juggle handling all sorts of problems, financial, political, currency attacks.

“In my 22 years, I gained a lot of experience,” Dr Mahathir said in an interview with Sinar Harian, broadcast this afternoon.

The nonagenarian was prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and again from May 2018 to March 2020.

He said he no longer wanted to be prime minister as he had held the post twice.

“If people don’t want me, then this is fine but I am willing to serve even despite my age. It’s not because I want to tell people what to do but because I want to share my experience in service to the country.”

Dr Mahathir was criticised after he said he proposed a NOC to the king, who met with the heads of political parties last week over the country’s ongoing political and Covid-19 crises, amid a state of emergency, which has in turn resulted in the suspension of national and state legislative sittings and the suspension of elections.

The NOC was an emergency administrative body put in place to restore law and order in Malaysia after the May 13, 1969, race riots.

Dr Mahathir’s allies in Pakatan Harapan have rejected the proposal, while political analysts said it showed that the elder statesman wanted one last shot at power.

In a subsequent blog post, Dr Mahathir said the NOC could be renamed as ‘national rehabilitation council’ and its mandate would solely be to fix the economy and reduce new Covid-19 cases until herd immunity is achieved.

Dr Mahathir said he was disappointed the emergency had not helped in curbing the spread of Covid-19.

“What is the use of the emergency if the situation is not improving?” he said, pointing out that daily infections had tripled since the emergency was announced in January, from 2,000 cases daily to up to 9,000 late last month.

He said the emergency only served to keep Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and the Perikatan Nasional government in power.

“The government can also spend money however they want without the scrutiny of Parliament, so it is not about Covid-19,” he said. – June 15, 2021.