No sooner has the People’s Declaration been signed to call for the removal of Prime Minister Najib Razak from public office, another anti-Najib movement is being set up – this time with the distinction of also being opposed to Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who spearheaded the Save Malaysia coalition just a week ago.
Leader of the Malaysian Youth Solidarity (Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia, or SAMM) organisation, Badrul Hisham Shaharin aka Chegubard, said the “People’s Expression Night” scheduled to take place tomorrow night at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, aims to push Najib out of office, while also rejecting any cooperation with Dr M and his fellow UMNO rebels, such as former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir.
“We will have more than 15 individuals speaking tomorrow that will reject efforts to use Dr Mahathir to lead reforms in this country,” Chegubard told Ida Lim of The Malay Mail Online.
“Our main concern is that the country is in a crisis, but we do not want Dr Mahathir to lead a movement for national reform. Our main concern is why we need Dr Mahathir — Dr Mahathir, Mukhriz, Muhyiddin are part of the country’s destruction.”
Last Friday, Dr Mahathir led a varied group of former UMNO leaders, opposition politicians, and civil rights activists in signing the People’s Declaration, a move that has spawned both derision from more liberal quarters wary of Mahathir’s involvement in any anti-UMNO call to action, and dismissals from Najib’s stalwart allies from Barisan Nasional and UMNO itself.
For his part, Chegubard has been something of a rebel within Malaysian opposition politics, having come into conflict with Selangor Menteri Besar and his PKR compatriot Azmin Ali over Azmin’s alleged power plays against PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim’s family.
Still, the SAMM leader insists that tomorrow night’s event will not launch a new formal political coalition.
“We are not a coalition, we are not a new group, we just set up a platform for people to express hope and give warning to political leaders that use the people’s name, don’t simply make your own declaration and bring Dr Mahathir as your leader,” he said.
He added that the People’s Expression Night has gotten traction from Pakatan Harapan politicians who have found working with the likes of Mahathir and Muhyiddin untenable for the Federal Opposition.
This splinter faction, Chegubard said, does not want to weaken efforts to oust Najib, but aims to aim even higher than merely removing one man from power.
“We complement and strengthen the movement, because we also want Malaysia to be saved, but we don’t want to only bring down Najib, but without opposing Barisan Nasional.”
