Removing Najib the solution, but how to do it, asks Dr Mahathir

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed says the solution to the current political crisis is to remove the 'man in charge of all this,' but that's easier said than done. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, August 10, 2015.The simplest solution to Malaysia's current political crisis is to remove the man responsible for it, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, as he continued to rail against Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Though Dr Mahathir did not refer to Najib specifically by name, he left little doubt that he was referring to the current prime minister, whose resignation he has urged over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

"The solution to the present crisis is simple, remove the man in charge of all this. But simple solutions are often difficult to do.

"The problem is how to do it? That part I do not have the answer yet," Dr Mahathir said in a dialogue session at the 11th Malaysia Festival of the Mind in Kajang today. 

The former prime minister accused Najib’s administration of hijacking institutions such as the police, the Attorney General’s chambers and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for the latter’s political survival.

“The system is supposed to overcome problems, but now the system is being used to create problems,” Dr Mahathir said.

The police have been severely criticised for investigating MACC officers over a so-called leak of information related to the commission’s probe on RM2.6 billion in political donations to Najib.

Misuse of the country’s institutions, Dr Mahathir said, would also cripple its prospects for growth and prevent Malaysia from achieving the aims of Vision 2020.

“When you think the instruments of the government are for your own protection, when you use money to buy votes and rig elections, then the future is not good for us.”

Dr Mahathir has become Najib's fiercest critic since last year, over his scandal involving 1MDB.

He has said before that Umno, the lead political party in the ruling coalition, should remove Najib who is its president.

- TMI