PRIME Minister Najib Razak is now facing a dilemma after the failure to amend the PAS-sponsored shariah bill, RUU355, and has lost the Islamic party’s support, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said Najib did not know what to do now following the fiasco over the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 in Parliament on Thursday.

“He (Najib) doesn’t know what to do. He did it to get PAS’s support but he also lost the support of those not from PAS.

“He couldn’t see the way out, so that was the way. While he could not table the bill himself, he told PAS to do it.

“To me, I think he will lose all the votes. He failed to get support,” Dr Mahathir said after the Hardtalk forum themed “Malaysia post-Najib” at the Selangor Youth and Culture Complex, Shah Alam, last night.

The nation’s longest-serving prime minister was asked to comment on what happened in the Dewan Rakyat with RUU355, which was tabled by Marang MP Abdul Hadi Awang on Thursday, as a private member’s bill.

RUU355 was not debated after Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia adjourned the house sine die.

It was also reported that an earlier decision was made to allow Hadi to table and explain the bill, but it would not be debated and put to a vote in this sitting.

The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairman, who is Najib’s biggest critic, said RUU355 had nothing to do with Islam.

Dr Mahathir said it was against Islam to cause disunity among themselves.

“It (RUU355) is used for politics. In Islam, we respect each other’s religions. As a multiracial and multi-religious nation, we must be sensitive of other faiths.

“We cannot do things that cause others to become afraid of Islam.”

Dr Mahathir was also asked to comment on the postponement of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) (Amendment) Bill to prevent unilateral conversions to the next Dewan Rakyat sitting.

He was asked about Bersatu’s stand on the issue.

“We have not discussed it in depth. But to me, it is not the intention of Islam or a Muslim-dominated government to compel people to do things against their wishes.

“I would think that we should be respectful of each other’s religion”.

Meanwhile, on reports earlier this week that the 1Malaysia Development Berhad investigations in Switzerland were making progress despite Malaysia withholding its cooperation, Dr Mahathir took a dig at Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali.

“We would make better progress without this A-G. He is hiding all the evidence, which is not the work of the A-G. He should not assume the duty of the judge. Even the judiciary offers three layers of court to appeal.

“But this A-G made a pronouncement that nobody can question. It was a dictatorial decision.”

Reuters reported that the money-laundering investigation into 1MDB by Swiss authorities was progressing even without the cooperation of their Malaysian counterparts.

Swiss A-G Michael Lauber was quoted as saying their efforts in studying money-laundering reports and bank documents with the help of authorities from Singapore, Luxembourg and the United States had been fruitful.

Najib was the chairman of 1MDB’s advisory board and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to 1MDB’s debt woes.

In January last year, Apandi said Najib did not abuse his position to get a government guarantee for a RM4 billion bond issued by SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary.

Apandi also cleared Najib of any wrongdoing in relation to RM2.6 billion channelled into his personal bank accounts. The money was reportedly from Saudi royal family member shortly before the 2013 general election. – April 8, 2017.