Dr M: Nothing to Hide hooligans were protecting Najib

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad is convinced that those who rioted at the Nothing to Hide 2 forum were supporters of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Dismissing the claim by Umno leaders that the troublemakers were from Bersatu Youth, the former premier said there was no reason for them to go on a rampage.

“If they were (from Bersatu Youth), why should they riot when it was clear that the forum was not going in Najib's favour.

“They rioted when their questions did not elicit answers in his favour either. Clearly, they rioted to stop the forum, to protect Najib.

“Since they were obviously pro-Najib and were trying unsuccessfully to embarrass me, they just cannot be from the party I lead and its youth wing.

“Umno leaders may deny these hooligans are from Umno, but the fact remains they are supporters of Najib, who is the president of Umno,” he added in a blog post.

Mahathir said while the police are free to question the organisers, inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar must not use threatening language against them.

He said Khalid must refrain from using language which implied that the organiser Bersatu Youth did not comply with police conditions.

“If the police have suspicions that the organisers are involved in wrongdoings, they can be called for questioning.

“The police must hear their side of the story. The riots were fully captured on video. The rioters’ faces will help to identify who the rioters were and what they did,” he added.

Umno and PAS leaders claimed that anger towards Mahathir's response to the Memali incident had caused the ruckus, which saw flares, chairs and slippers hurled.

Bersatu and Mahathir's supporters claimed that it was an attempt to attack the former premier.

However, two rebel Bersatu members claimed that they were the intended targets to prevent them from asking about Memali.

Meanwhile, Mahathir predicted more violence taking place if the attempts to demonise him fail.

“I am now a threat to the nation. So look back over three decades and resurrect the crimes that can be blamed on me. If this fails to achieve the objective to demonise me, then we will be seeing more violence,” he added.

The former premier was making an obvious reference to the calls to form a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the Memali incident, which claimed the lives of 18 people in 1985.

At present, an RCI is investigating Bank Negara's foreign exchange (forex) losses some two decades ago when Mahathir was prime minister.

Mahathir claimed that the people are no longer safe under the current administration.

“It looks like more thuggery is in store for Malaysians... This is Najib's Malaysia. People are no longer safe and secure,” he said. - Mkini