KUALA LUMPUR: Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has questioned former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s true intentions of pushing through a plan in 1994 to remove certain powers from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Hishammuddin said Dr Mahathir had previously argued in favour of an amendment to the Federal Constitution, which was aimed at making the approval and signature of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong no longer necessary for the legalising of an Act of Parliament.
“Dr Mahathir’s argument during that time was to ensure that there would be no people or institutions that could deny our efforts to develop the country.
“But today, his argument is different. We sometimes ask ourselves whether Dr Mahathir was sincere when he asked us to support his plan because today, he has apologised to the Malay rulers,” he told reporters after officiating the Gombak Umno divisional delegates’ meeting here today.
Hishammuddin, who was an Umno Youth leader in the 1990s, said Dr Mahathir’s about-turn would be judged and evaluated by future generations.
Dr Mahathir, who served as prime minister from 1981 to 2003, on Thursday apologised for the amendment of the Federal Consitution in May 1994, which removed the requirement for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's assent before a new act of Parliament came into force.
“I sincerely apologise for making the amendment as it is open to misinterpretation.
“It would seem that because of the amendment, the new National Security Council (NSC) law has become operational even though the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has not signed it,” Dr Mahathir had said in his blog.
On another matter, Hishammuddin, who is also defence minister, said Saturday’s illegal “Tangkap Malaysian Official 1” (Tangkap MO1) rally failed to achieve anything positive.
He said that while the allegations against 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) were serious, the public should remain patient and allow the legal process to take its course.
“The prime minister had said that those named in the United States’ Department of Justice civil complaint on 1MDB should clear their names. The (legal) process will take time.
“Before (the case is settled), are we going to hold protests every day? I don’t see how this will achieve anything.”
Hishammuddin, during his address to some 190 Gombak Umno delegates earlier, said Dr Mahathir’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Parti Pribumi) would not get “an inch” of support from the people of Johor following the latter’s criticism of the ‘Bangsa Johor’ concept.
He pointed out that the concept should not be politicised as it was introduced in 1920 as a means to create unity among the people of Johor.
Dr Mahathir, during the 20th Perdana Discourse Series recently, was quoted as saying that unity among Malaysians could collapse if states like Johor practised parochialism.