He said in a press interview that the declaration, which calls for the removal of Najib Razak as prime minister, was first formulated by Dr Mahathir and that opposition politicians and leaders of several NGOs joined later.
“It is quite extraordinary, this initiative done with the opposition and those of the same view, and it was not us going over there, and not because (we were) trapped by the DAP, or with Lim Kit Siang or the opposition,” Muhyiddin was quoted as saying in an interview with Sinar Harian.
He said critics of the 37-paragraph declaration had mentioned Kit Siang only but did not mention Azmin Ali, the PKR deputy president, or Dr Ling Liong Sik, the former MCA president, or other friends present. “It’s like some kind of strange phobia,” he said, according to Malay Mail Online.
Muhyiddin also pointed out that PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim had also expressed support in a letter from prison. “That is extraordinary, because we know the history between Dr Mahathir and Anwar,” he said, referring to the emnity between the two after Dr Mahathir sacked Anwar as deputy prime minister and finance minister in 1997.
Muhyiddin, who was suspended as Umno deputy president last month, was removed from the Cabinet as deputy prime minister in mid-2015 after making criticisms of Najib’s handling of the affairs of 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
He denied that he had become part of Mahathir’s initiative out of a need to be prime minister or from impatience in taking over.
Instead, he said the movement was aimed at saving Umno and the country. “I am not a traitor,” he was quoted as saying.
Last week, Muhyiddin was among 45 people including former law minister Zaid Ibrahim and politicians from DAP, PKR, PAS, Amanah Negara, and civil society leaders Ambiga Sreenevasan and Maria Chin Abdullah.
The opposition and civil society members have said they were part of the initiative in order to carry out reforms to the political system after Najib’s removal.
Muhyiddin said those reforms would be dealt with at a later stage, with the current focus of the movement on removing Najib.