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Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad took to social media to demand that current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim show proof that the former had “amassed wealth” while in power.
In a Facebook post dated Mar. 27, Mahathir said, "I want to see evidence from Anwar that I had amassed wealth for me, my family, and my children.”
Show me the proof: Mahathir
He claimed that making accusations without evidence is easy, and allegations that are not proven cannot be accepted as the truth.
"It's slander," Mahathir proclaimed.
Anwar had claimed on Mar. 18, while delivering a speech at the 2023 PKR Special National Congress, that a "person who was in power for 22 years and 22 months" had "amassed wealth for him, his family and his children."
While Anwar did not explicitly mention Mahathir, he implied that the former leader he was referring to had lamented that Malays were supposedly losing their power now that he was no longer Prime Minister.
"Please don't try to hoodwink the public by saying they should rise and fight for their rights," Anwar was quoted as saying by New Straits Times.
Previously on March 6, Mahathir had claimed that the Malays in Malaysia had lost their "economic control" and also risked losing their political power.
Mahathir claims Anwar preventing him from attending event
Mahathir, 97, who served as Malaysia’s prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020, also claimed in his post that he had attempted to “restore the state of the Malays” during his second stint in office.
“However, the [Pakatan Harapan] government was overthrown and I lost my position. That’s why I’m complaining now.”
“I am complaining now because when I resigned as prime minister, the Malays lost everything. It is true that the Malays became very poor after I was no longer prime minister.”
He also wrote that he wanted to let the Malay community realise the problems they were facing via the Malay People's Proclamation gathering.
Mahathir accused Anwar in the post of allegedly preventing him from attending the Malay People’s Proclamation event, which had been cancelled as organisers could not secure a venue.
Therefore, the cancellation of the event meant that Anwar's government had rejected both the Federal Constitution and Umno's constitution, which promised to protect the rights of Malays, alleged Mahathir in the post.
Continuation of Anwar-Mahathir saga
Anwar and Mahathir share a long, complicated history, which includes surprise alliances but had fallings-out more often than not.
When Anwar became prime minister in 2022, Mahathir expressed doubt on whether his political rival and erstwhile ally could lead the country.
Earlier in March 2023, the former leader criticised Anwar again, claiming the latter’s first 100 days as prime minister had not produced any results.
Related:
Top images via Facebook pages of Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad & Anwar Ibrahim