PRIME Minister Najib Razak today increased his attacks against his chief critic, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

At MCA’s 64th annual general assembly today, Najib chided the 92-year-old Pakatan Harapan chairman for blaming Operasi Lalang on police.

“His Ops Lalang put more than 100 people behind bars. Now he says: ‘I had to listen to the police’. When has Dr Mahathir ever listened to anyone?” said Najib.

“Did he listen to his previous deputies? He didn’t. 

“He has a problem with every single deputy. Everyone has a problem, except Dr Mahathir. Because Dr Mahathir is perfect, nobody else is. That’s the man,” said Najib.

Some 106 lawmakers, academics and activists were detained without trial under Ops Lalang in 1987. The psychological trauma lingers on for some detainees even after three decades.

The prime minister then, Dr Mahathir said on Wednesday he accepted the blame but insisted that it was a police decision.

Najib boasted that he abolished the Internal Security Act, the preventive detention law used to arrest Ops Lalang victims.

“How many people have I put under the ISA?

“Zero. I’m the one who abolished the ISA, he said.

Najib’s government repealed the ISA in 2012 after decades of lobbying from local and international human rights groups and opposition lawmakers.

However, the BN government then introduced the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) as a replacement to the ISA in 2012 to curb terrorism.

Sosma has since been used against government critics, including election watchdog Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah, Khairuddin Abu Hassan, who lodged a police report on 1Malaysia Development Bhd, and his lawyer, Matthias Chang.

Najib also blamed Dr Mahathir for the constitutional crisis in 1988 that led to the sacking of former Supreme Court Lord President Salleh Abbas, scandals involving local steelmaker Perwaja and losses made by the central bank in the 1980s in his 30-minute speech.

“Don’t waste your time with the other side. It’s all hypocrisy,” he said.

Najib was part of the cabinet throughout most of Dr Mahathir’s 22-year tenure as prime minister that ended in 2003.

He was appointed culture, youth and sports minister in 1986, defence minister in 1990, education minister in 1995, and reappointed as defence minister in 1997. – November 5, 2017.