Ex-aides accused of engineering Mahathir's defeat

Ex-aides accused of engineering Mahathir's defeat
At a meeting, they allegedly told voters not to back the former PM

By Reme Ahmad
The Straits Times, 13 Sept 2006

THREE former top aides of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad have come under fire for holding a meeting to deny him victory in the recent election in his Kubang Pasu Umno division.

Umno chiefs have said there was no campaigning to ensure the former premier lost in last Saturday's election, but his supporters said the meeting with delegates held at Kelab Darul Aman in Kedah served to stab him in the back.

Datuk Saad Man, who was Tun Mahathir's political secretary; Datuk Hanafi Ramli, former deputy chief of the Kubang Pasu Umno division; and former Kedah Menteri Besar (chief minister) Osman Aroff allegedly persuaded voters not to back the former prime minister at the gathering.

'There was a meeting and the leaders reminded the voters not to pick Dr Mahathir,' said a Kedah-based source yesterday.

News of the clubhouse caucus - and allegations that cash was paid to those who attended - has added fuel to arguments about what really caused Tun Dr Mahathir's humiliating defeat.

The meeting is said to have been held on Friday evening and attended by about half of the 500 divisional voters.

The pleas of the three men had a decisive influence on the election's outcome, the former premier's supporters alleged.

The three leaders were not available for comment yesterday.

Tun Dr Mahathir was chief of the Kubang Pasu Umno division for 26 years; he was also its Member of Parliament.

Members of the Kubang Pasu division did not pick the former premier as one of their seven delegates to attend the party's annual assembly in November.

The mainstream media yesterday played up comments by party leaders who said Tun Dr Mahathir must produce proof that bribes were paid to defeat him, as well as make a formal complaint about it.

They included Umno Supreme Council member Nazri Aziz, who said he doubted the division members would 'stoop so low as to accept a RM200 bribe just to ensure Dr Mahathir would not get elected'. RM200 is about S$86.

'I don't think it's right. If it is true, then make a report,' he said on Tuesday.

These sentiments were echoed by Kubang Pasu Umno division chief Johari Baharom and Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

At the news conference on Monday when he said that cash had been paid out by those against him, Tun Dr Mahathir also referred to the clubhouse meeting.

He said his three former lieutenants had in speeches at the meeting claimed they did not get anything under his administration.

'Osman Aroff, the former Menteri Besar, said in his speech I did not give him anything. I don't know what he wanted from me when I was PM, but he was made Menteri Besar so what else does he want?' Tun Dr Mahathir said.

He also said Datuk Hanafi cannot complain because he was appointed chairman of the Tourism Promotion Board.

'And another person was Saad Man. He campaigned against me although he is not an Umno member any more,' he added.

On their part, Umno chiefs have accused the pro-Mahathir camp of presenting Kubang Pasu voters with a free newspaper and VCDs promoting the former premier's views.