The Malaysian Insight

LIM Guan Eng has dismissed Tajuddin Abdul Rahman’s revelation about Umno’s move to back Anwar Ibrahim for the prime minister’s post.

The DAP chairman said it is irrelevant to the problems faced by the people now.

“I don’t think it is relevant to the problems the country is facing now such as inflation and rising prices. So let the people see who is fighting for their own interests.

“We are more focused on how to solve the people’s problems, how to fight corruption, how those who are corrupt get punished and how those fighting corruption are also getting punished,” he told reporters outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.

Lim said he had not seen the statutory declarations (SDs) that have been much talked about.

“I have never seen any of the SDs, so how would I know? If you want, you should ask Umno about this,” he said.

Yesterday, during a press conference, Tajuddin said Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had supported previous moves to make PKR president Anwar the prime minister.

The Pasir Salak MP, who is out of favour with the Umno president and was axed as a Supreme Council member last week, said Zahid had been behind efforts to obtain support from MPs for Anwar to be prime minister.

Tajuddin said he was also “forced” to sign a statutory declaration (SD) to that effect after Zahid gave him “a sour face” when he stated his disagreement to the move.

“It is supposed to be ‘no Anwar’, ’no DAP’… but I am a living witness, there were SDs signed in support of Anwar to become the prime minister, and letters were sent to the palace,” he told the press conference to respond to his removal as Umno Supreme Council member last week. 

“I was urged to do so, but I did not want to. In the end, I signed as well because I was given a sour face.”

The recently appointed ambassador to Indonesia also said Zahid spoke to him four times to lend support to Anwar, before he (Tajuddin) finally signed the SD.

In March, at the Umno general assembly, Zahid said in his policy speech that Umno would never work with Anwar nor with DAP.

In October 2020, while Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin was prime minister after the Sheraton Move that ousted Pakatan Harapan from Putrajaya, a letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong signed by Zahid and Pekan MP Najib Razak went viral on social media.

Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob succeeded Muhyiddin last August after the latter lost majority support and had to resign. – June 28, 2022.