At a press conference in Putrajaya on the Citizens’ Declaration campaign, which is being backed by the Save Malaysia movement, Mahathir noted that the one million target had been achieved within two months of the launching of the campaign.
Mahathir said 1,071,997 verified signatures were received online and 200,000 physical signatures were collected from signed copies of the declaration.
He said the verified signatures did not include the 253,505 signatures that were rejected due to being incomplete, duplications or when the signatory’s identity card numbers did not tally with their names.
Malaysia’s longest serving premier added that these signatures were rejected to avoid people from doubting the authenticity of the signatures.
“Contrary to reports in the mainstream media, we received overwhelming support even in the rural and remote areas during the numerous meet-the-people sessions held in various parts of the country,” he said at a press conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation.
Mahathir claimed that they were also informed of subtle threats made against villagers and civil servants from signing the Citizens’ Declaration.
Mahathir said the next step was to hand over the signatures to the King. He said he was seeking an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong so he could tell the King that the people wanted Najib removed.
“As you can see, there are so many signed forms. It would be too heavy to bring it to the palace. So, most likely, I will take a picture of them and bring to the King,” he said, adding he would also seek an audience with the Council of Rulers.
Mahathir said he believed the King and the Council of Rulers were aware of the issue at hand and that they were sensitive to the feelings of the people.
He acknowledged that while the movement would be unable to get the majority of Malaysians to sign the Citizens’ Declaration, nevertheless the signatures collected so far in such a short time reflected the sentiment of the citizens.
Mahathir also repeated some of his tirades against Najib, saying the premier was unfit to be a leader and that never before had any leader in the country been implicated in so many scandals.
Apart from demanding Najib’s resignation, the Citizens’ Declaration – spearheaded by Mahathir – is also pushing for institutional reforms.
The initiative was launched in March and saw the participation of politicians from Umno and Opposition parties, as well as NGOs and civil societies.
Others at the press conference included former Kedah Menteri Besar Sanusi Junid, human rights activist Ambiga Sreenevasan, former Umno leader Khairuddin Abu Hassan, Mahfuz Omar of PAS and Teresa Kok of DAP.