PUTRAJAYA: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today claimed the removal of Tun Salleh Abas as the Lord President in 1988 was done under instructions from then Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The Pakatan Harapan chairman said he was willing to swear on the Holy Quran that his name had been used by then Attorney-General Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman to save the good name of the Agong.
The Agong then was the Sultan of Johor, the late Sultan Iskandar Ismail.
"Tun Salleh's action of writing a letter, raising his displeasure of the sounds caused by construction works carried out at the Agong's private home, which was not too far from the former's house, had made the Agong angry.
"He had not only sent the letter to the Agong but also sent copies of the letter to other Malay Rulers," claimed Dr Mahathir at the at the soft launch of the 'Harapan Baru; Policy Talks' here.
Dr Mahathir said it was not right for a senior government officer to do this and Tun Salleh should have met the Agong and made the request.
"This had caused the Agong to be angry. He had called me and wanted me to sack Tun Salleh," he told reporters at the Perdana Leadership Foundation today.
Dr Mahathir said he brought up the matter to the Cabinet which suggested the establishment of a tribunal to remove Tun Salleh from his position.
"After the tribunal was set up, he was removed. However, the letter he wrote was nowhere to be found now.
"I was doing things which only the Agong can legitimise. I couldn't have done it myself," he added.
Dr Mahathir’s claims run contrary to those made by the late Sultan Iskandar’s son, Tunku Abdul Majid Idris.
Tunku Abdul Majid, who is the Tunku Bendahara of Johor, had previously stated that the Sultan was “used” by Dr Mahathir to remove Salleh.
“Mahathir used my father to remove Tun Salleh, period.
“Tun Salleh is a good man and my father acknowledged that. He has already made his peace with Tun Salleh.
“Mahathir, please don’t blame people who can’t defend themselves anymore,” Tunku Abdul Majid was previously quoted as saying.
Dr Mahathir first made his claim that Salleh was sacked for complaining about the construction din at the Agong’s house in his autobiography, “A Doctor In The House: The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad”, in 2011.
Dr Mahathir had denied removing Salleh, along with five Supreme Court judges, as a retaliation to the court having previously declared Umno illegal after the 1987 party election which saw Dr Mahathir narrowly beating Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.