KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the imprisonment of former prime minister and ex-Umno president, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, would not "cleanse" the Malays' largest party.
The Langkawi member of parliament said that the leadership of the Barisan Nasional (BN) component is now known nationwide for being involved in corruption.
This, he said, includes Umno now being embroiled in stealing billions of ringgit of the country's money, misusing power, damaging government administration and destroying the party itself.
Therefore, Dr Mahathir, who is a former Umno president, called for the party to be completely rejected.
"Najib's imprisonment does not cleanse Umno. Umno's culture was not the party's culture when it was founded. This is not Umno's party anymore.
"That's why Umno needs to be defeated and replaced with a Malay party that holds strong to the principles of Malays' struggle for race, country and religion.
"I, as the former president of Umno and a member of Umno when it was founded in 1946, call for the current party called Umno to be completely rejected.
"I am sad. But the truth is, I have to accept it. The party I used to know has been destroyed because of the belief that 'Cash is King'," he said in a post on his Facebook account today.
In the same posting, Dr Mahathir also criticised the actions of the Umno leadership and party members who accused Najib of being mistreated after being imprisoned and the court's allegedly acting unfairly against the Pekan MP.
What is actually unfair, Dr Mahathir insisted, is Najib's actions of trying to cover up his wrongdoings, including firing individuals investigating them.
He gave an example, in that among those individuals was Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, who was then serving as the attorney-general before being replaced by Najib's choice.
He added other acts included ordering the police to arrest anyone who reported on or publicly criticised 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and Najib.
"Umno leaders and members accused Najib of being mistreated. It is said that the court was unfair. This is about a person who was tried for four years, by three courts and nine judges. There is no case like this in the country's history. All the judges agree Najib is wrong.
"What is unfair is Najib's action of trying to cover up the elephant's carcass by firing anyone attempting to investigate anything involving 1MDB's issues.
"The then attorney-general, (Tan Sri) Abdul Gani Patail, was removed and replaced by his choice Apandi Ali, who then cleared Najib of all investigations and charges. Similarly, police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission officers were changed and frozen," he said.
