The communications and multimedia minister said 92-year-old Mahathir, who was prime minister from 1981 to 2003, had been chosen despite having been previously criticised and attacked by the opposition for his alleged wrongdoings.
“Today, Malaysians are being told a totally different story and opposite to what they had been told these last 20 years,” he said.
“How does Pakatan explain and justify this other than saying the only important thing is to oust the prime minister and it does not matter how it is done?” he said in his blog today.
PH announced Mahathir as its candidate if it wins the next polls, at its convention in Shah Alam on Sunday, with PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the choice for deputy prime minister.
Salleh, who is Sabah Umno deputy chairman, said the opposition had previously maintained that if it ever formed the government, the first thing they would do was to make Mahathir pay for his alleged crimes.
He said PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who was sacked by Mahathir as deputy prime minister in 1998, had then reasoned that he was a victim because he opposed Mahathir’s abuse of power and had exposed his wrongdoings.
“Since 1998 the opposition has always claimed it has enough evidence to force Mahathir to face trial for the alleged wrongdoings he committed in his 22 years as prime minister,” he said.
“The battle-cry of the opposition since 20 years ago was that Malaysia needed to be saved and this could only happen if Mahathir was ousted from power.
“Mahathir was identified as the cause of the rot and unless the cause can be eliminated then the rot can never be removed,” he added.
He said while opposition members were united against Mahathir before, the impression being created at present was that they were now united under him.
Salleh says naming of PM candidate part of Mahathir’s ‘Game of Thrones’