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PETALING JAYA (THE STAR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has offered to testify against Chief Minister Azmin Ali in a lawsuit filed by voters of Datuk Seri Azmin in Gombak district.
Tun Dr. Mahathir said on Wednesday (December 2) that, as he previously stated some of the accusations against Azmin in the lawsuit, he was willing to help the 10 Gombak voters who claimed the cabinet minister broke his promises as his deputy when he switched political sides in February by joining Perikatan Nasional.
The 95-year-old Dr. Mahathir’s move pointed to the frayed ties with Azmin, 56, who was once close to the older statesman.
“Based on the statement of claim filed by the 10 registered voters, the lawyers informed me that the lawsuit was filed against Azmin for breaking his oath as a Gombak deputy, ignoring the trust of Gombak voters out of self-interest, removing his promises during the last general election campaign and commit a deception offense.
“The claim statement includes the Sheraton Move and the Perikatan formation, which divided Pakatan Harapan (PH), the then-elected government,” Dr. Mahathir said in a Facebook post.
“He also stated that I did not attend the meeting at the Sheraton Hotel on February 23, that I resigned on February 24, and Azmin is now cooperating with the Barisan Nasional leaders who have faced or are facing criminal charges.
“I am willing to offer myself as a witness in court if my testimony is required. I am willing to help,” added Dr. Mahathir.
He said the court is the best forum to prove these accusations and feels that the lawsuit is a brave act on the part of the rakyat.
The 10 voters from the Gombak constituency in Selangor on December 1 filed a lawsuit against Mr. Azmin, alleging deception and breach of fiduciary duty for leaving the PH that ruled Malaysia to join Perikatan Nasional (PN).
The defection of Mr. Azmin and other lawmakers led to the collapse of the PH government in late February, and it was replaced by PN, which is led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
Azmin is one of the four senior ministers of the PN government.
The group that filed the lawsuit: Mr. Affandy Abd Raof Faiz, Mr. B. Balasuntharam, Ms. Fatimah Begum Abu Bakar, Mr. Koo Kim Seng, Ms. Mazidah Mohd Noor, Mr. Md Yusof Ismail, Mr. Muhammad Safwan Md Anuar, Mr. R. Prasath, S. Ramaksihnan and PM Subasini – did so through attorney Yohendra Nadarajan on November 27.
The plaintiffs, aged between 36 and 67, named Mr. Azmin as the sole defendant.
A check on the court’s electronic filing system showed that the lawsuit has been arranged for the handling of the case before the Undersecretary of Registry Maslinda Selamat.
Dr. Mahathir’s offer to testify in the case came just days after Azmin said in an interview with The Star newspaper published on Sunday that Dr. Mahathir was behind the initiative to form the PN with Malaysian parties. from both sides of the aisle.
Under that plan, Mr. Azmin had claimed, Dr. Mahathir would remain prime minister.
Dr. Mahathir has denied the claims, saying that if they were true, he would have remained prime minister today.
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