‘Revoke Mahathir’s Tun-ship if he keeps attacking royals’ UPDATED

UPDATED

‘Revoke Mahathir’s Tun-ship if he keeps attacking royals’


PARLIAMENT | RSN Rayer (Pakatan Harapan-Jelutong) has called for the government to consider revoking former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s ‘Tun’ title if he continues his attacks against the royal institution.

During his debate in the Dewan Rakyat this afternoon, Rayer appealed to Mahathir to halt his alleged contempt and stressed that the police should not hold back against the former Langkawi MP.

“The police should not compromise and must take action against Mahathir if he continues his attacks against the royal institution,” the DAP leader said.

UPDATED

On June 2, Malaysiakini reported that police questioned Mahathir regarding statements containing contempt towards the royal institution.

Lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali said Mahathir was questioned about a video purportedly showing the 97-year-old speaking at a private function.

In the video, Mahathir allegedly remarked that the Malays cannot rely on the Malay rulers to protect them.

He also purportedly divulged that he has no respect for the rulers.

At the same time, Mahathir was also questioned under Section 124B of the Penal Code for alleged activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy.

Rafique described the questioning as “intimidation” and revealed six police reports lodged against the “Malay Proclamation”.


‘Where’s the RM207 billion?’

Earlier, in his debate, the Jelutong MP urged the National Audit Department and the government to consider investigating the “Death Railway” compensation.

Referring to a Free Malaysia Today report, Rayer explained that in the nineties, during Mahathir’s first tenure as prime minister, Malaysia received a payment of RM207 billion from the Japanese government as restitution for civilians coerced into working on the railway.

For context, the Death Railway, also known as the Burma Railway, is a railway track from Thailand to Burma (now Myanmar) built during World War II.

Nearly 300,000 Southeast Asians were subjected to forced labour by the Japanese forces during its construction - thousands of Malaysians were also forcibly taken as labourers.

According to FMT, in a recent TV interview with Vannakam Malaysia on May 23, Mahathir denied receiving compensation for Malaysian victims or their families.

A decade prior, Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader at the time, asserted there was "evidence" suggesting Japanese and Malaysian officials knew the funds were allocated to the government but did not go through the treasury.

“The amount involved is such a large amount… Can the audit department and the government investigate this matter?

“Has this amount been received by the government under Mahathir's leadership? And if this is true, that the RM207 billion has been received, what happened to that money?” Rayer asked.