Dr Mahathir wants 'the end to justify the means' - Khairy

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's latest U-turn to support Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the prime minister has been likened as wanting 'the end to justify the means' by a senior UMNO leader.

UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said Dr Mahathir had changed his stand although it was he (then prime minister) who sacked Anwar from the post of deputy prime minister and sent him to jail.

"Facts cannot be changed, unlike Dr Mahathir's stand. He is trying to save himself from the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Bank Negara's foreign exchange losses in the 1990s.

"He needs Anwar's support who was then the finance minister responsible for Bank Negara so that he is not blamed for the forex losses," he told reporters at his Aidilfitri open house, here today.

Dr Mahathir recently made a U-turn by supporting Anwar as the prime minister.

Khairy said Dr Mahathir had used a similar method to save his legacy by trying to make his son, Datuk Seri Mukhriz as the prime minister.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Dr Mahathir knew that RCI's findings could lead to criminal prosecution, and could not allow individuals closely related to the case, such as Anwar to testify against him.

--BERNAMA