KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad joined a gathering at Istana Negara to express solidarity with the current plight of the people here today.
Speaking at the gathering, Dr Mahathir said many citizens are currently suffering to the point of 'some resorting to suicide due to life's pressures'.
"I am here because I am also a Malaysian citizen, and this is a people's movement, so I sympathise with them. As mentioned earlier, Malays have never committed suicide until now. Seventeen Malays have committed suicide, some even killed their mothers or fathers because they lost direction and are feeling extremely pressured. That's why I am here, to show my solidarity with the people," he said during a meeting with media in front of Gate Two at Istana Negara today.
Gerakan Pembela Ummah chairman Aminuddin Yahya said they felt 'offended' by the 'prime minister and other leaders arrogance, who insulted His Majesty', which he claimed had led not only to corruption issues but also tarnished the Royal Highness's position and the entire country.
"Basic prices are rising uncontrollably. Unfortunately, this pressure and suffering are not followed by decisive action from the government to solve the economic problems of the people," said Aminuddin after handing over the memorandum.
Among the issues he raised was the leadership which he said lacked integrity, escalating court interventions which jeopardised Malay powers and Islamic principles, foreign influences posing security risks, increasing insults to Islam, and the growing influence of liberal ideologies.
Aminuddin said the memorandum called for immediate attention to these pressing matters to safeguard the interests of Malays and Islam under the King and Malay rulers.
"If this continues, the foundation of this country as a country with Malay and Islam as its foundations and the Malay rulers as the rulers of this country will be erode quickly. This is a very worrisome situation," he said.Pembela Tanah (Peta) coordinator, Badrul Hisham Shaharin said there was abuse of power in government agencies 'from MACC to MCMC'.
"I talked about someone named Azri; there was a TikTok live show, and all his accounts were shut down. (He is) claiming that this is an abuse of power by MCMC paid for with public funds; don't suppress and use MCMC," he said.
He also blamed the deterioration of the country on 'AZD,' an abbreviation for Anwar Ibrahim, Zahid Hamidi, and DAP, considering them the primary factors for the decline.
He asserted that Anwar's pursuit of power, Zahid's willingness to act as a puppet for self-preservation, and DAP's exploitation of the situation were collectively contributing to the 'destruction of the country'.
"We, the people, set aside political affiliations and discuss questions about the stability of the country.
Almost 1,000 people participated in the demonstration, with at least 50 policemen securing and controlling the crowd at their designated checkpoints in front of the palace.
