Dr M: US wants Anwar as PM, we don't
MalaysiaKini.com
Dec 6, 2014

The US government does not want Anwar Ibrahim to be convicted because it wants him to be the prime minister, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.

"That's up to them, but we don't want (Anwar as prime minister)," he said.

The former premier was responding to US Vice-President Joe Biden’s tweet yesterday expressing concerns about the Sedition Act and other laws being used to stifle the opposition.

He also said that Anwar's (right) final appeal against his sodomy conviction gave Malaysia a chance to put things right and promote confidence in its democracy and judiciary.

However, Mahathir said the US should indulge in introspection before judging others.

"They even get tortured, that's how it is in America," he told reporters at a Proton event today.

"They pass life sentence on those who do not even know that they have been sentenced to death. And suddenly, drones come and shoot the person.

"This is the country that wants to teach the world the sanctity of law," he added.

'Problem of illegals not just in Sabah'

Meanwhile, Mahathir was also quizzed on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on immigrants in Sabah.

He said the problem does not happen in Sabah alone as there are those who come to other states through illegal means as well.

"As for Sabah, those people who came illegally to Sabah have lived there for more than 30 years. 

"These people are not paid, they don't have identification cards (IC), so what can we do to them?

"We can't place them in the middle of the sea and sink their ship like what Australia does. We are not that cruel," he said.

The RCI had cleared the government and political parties of involvement in the mass issuance of citizenship to migrants in Sabah.

Instead, the report pinpointed syndicates involving former National Registration Department officials as the culprits who raked in millions of ringgit.

Mahathir was accused of being the mastermind of the operation dubbed "Project IC" where identity cards were purportedly given to foreigners in exchange for votes.

When testifying before the RCI, the former premier denied any knowledge of such a scheme.

However, critics panned the RCI report with veteran Sabah politician Jeffrey Kittingan describing it as an "eyewash" to save Mahathir.

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