Tun M - Ku Li press conference: Five things you should know

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and UMNO veteran and Gua Musang MP Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah held a joint press conference today, appealing to Members of the Dewan Rakyat to reject the Third Reading of the Supply (Budget) Bill 2021 scheduled for tomorrow.

The former political rivals said the rejection of the Supply Bill could be translated as a rejection to the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government led by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was deemed weak and did not care about the people.

Tengku Razaleigh, widely known as Ku Li, confirmed that he will not be voting for the Budget tomorrow.

READ MORE: Tun M, Ku Li hope members of Dewan Rakyat will reject 2021 Budget

Here’s five things you need to know from the press conference:

• The elderly statesmen have called MPs to vote based on their conscience tomorrow.

"There is a possibility that tomorrow, when they (Members of the Dewan Rakyat) vote for the third reading of the bill, then there is a possibility that the Government will fall.

"I hope those in the Dewan Rakyat stop thinking about themselves, but start thinking about the country. We see that this government does not have the motivation to help the people, but only thinks of what they can get," said Dr Mahathir.

They offered their expertise and experience in politics and governing a country, expressing their readiness to form a ‘unity government’ should the PN government fail to pass the Budget. They also said they are willing to come together to help Malaysia return to its former glory as one of the ‘Asian Tiger’.

Dr Mahathir ruled out working with Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“I told them, a government that depends on the support of Datuk Seri Najib to be formed is not something I can accept. But, Muhyiddin said he could accept. He took it,” said Dr Mahathir.

READ MORE: 'I can't cooperate with Najib' - Tun M

Dr Mahathir also said he has not discussed with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to oust Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. The Langkawi MP confirmed that he is still in the Opposition bloc but asserted he is not answerable to Anwar even though he is the Opposition leader.

Dr Mahathir said the PN government has the advantage of only two votes.

“The government has the advantage of only two votes. All these politicians in Malaysia are only (focused) on politics, to determine their positions. Most of them just look at their job to earn a good income," he added.

He, however, denied working behind the scenes in garnering support from MPs to form a new government.