I would resign today if I were PM, says Dr M

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad speaks during the Malaysian Dilemma forum in Kuala Lumpur today. He says he is unsure whether Datuk Seri Najib Razak is performing as prime minister. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, February 12, 2015.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he would resign if he was prime minister today, adding he would heed calls from people who think he was not performing.

"I would resign," he replied to a question at The Malaysian Dilemma forum in capital city Kuala Lumpur today.

"If you don't perform and people say you're no good, please resign," said the country's longest serving prime minister who retired in 2003.

To a comment that he chose his successors and deputies, Dr Mahathir said people could see their performance and judge for themselves.

"As for Najib, I don't know if he is performing, "Dr Mahathir said.

On the debt-heavy strategic investor 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), the 89-year-old said succinctly," I won't have 1MDB."

He also said that underperforming le‎aders should not trouble the nation and should instead, resign.

With his trademark sarcasm, Dr Mahathir said he has not had a good track record in choosing successors.

"I chose Pak Lah, and you know what happened. I chose Anwar, and you know what happened," he said.

He was referring to Tun Abdullah Badawi, who replaced him as prime minister in 2003 and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was his deputy before being sacked in 1998 for corruption.

"But the thing is, before they came into power, they were really good. They were clean. Bersih. Now 'bersih' only refers to the demonstrators," Dr Mahathir said as the crowd burst into laughter.

“You really cannot tell about a man before his appointment and after their appointment. ‎If you give absolute power to a person, it corrupts you absolutely."

When asked why he kept criticising the government despite retiring from public office 12 years ago, Dr Mahathir said that he was merely exercising his right as a citizen of Malaysia.

"So what do I do? Be like Pak Lah and keep quiet? I don't.

"I advise people who retire to be active. If you are not active, you die. I love this country. I have a right as a citizen to criticise.

"I am a politician, since I was a baby, I think. I was a pain in the neck for a lot of people," he said, referring to his vocal criticism against Putrajaya and Najib.

He, however, ‎added that he was "reluctant" to criticise the current prime minister as he ‎was not "perfect himself".

‎"I am not a master of everything. But certain things I cannot support. I have ‎publicly said that I do not support Najib because there are many wrong things. 

"The country is currently facing a lot of problems but the government is not admitting it.  They are in denial.”

A good leader, Dr Mahathir said, would always look behind him to see if there were people following him.

“And if there aren't, they should do the right thing and leave."

- TMI