PETALING JAYA: Former Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim has high hopes that the younger generation in the country will show courage like former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad in speaking up against the government and Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Zaid was responding to Mahathir’s remarks yesterday when the latter said that he was willing to die in jail should his criticism against Najib and Putrajaya end with him being incarcerated.
“I am proud of the courage shown by Tun M. I just hope many others, much younger than him, respond accordingly,” he told FMT via WhatsApp when contacted.
Yesterday, Mahathir was questioned by several police officers at his office at Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya following a complaint by an individual in Kelantan over his blog posting.
During a media conference after the questioning, Mahathir had called on the public to act as citizens first and show their concern for what was currently happening in the country, adding that he would join Zaid’s planned March 27 gathering if he was invited.
Zaid said he would send out invitations for the gathering next week to Mahathir and “others who have the guts to stand up for the country”.
“Public institutions have been destroyed. We must reclaim the country so that the rule of law remains.
“The honour of the country is at stake. We must never show fear to the emperor,” Zaid added, apparently referring to the prime minister.
On Tuesday, Zaid clarified that the gathering was an “invite-only” affair involving about 1,000 people, including representatives of political parties from across the divide, student leaders and civil society members, except PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.