JOHOR BARU: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has reminded Johor voters once again not to vote for a "kleptocratic" government, to ensure a clean administration that would put the needs of the people first.
The Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) chairman said Malaysians, including the people of Johor, had once stopped Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno from allegedly "robbing" from the public.
"However, this success was stunted when Parti Bumiputera Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin willingly turned his back on voters and partners in Pakatan Harapan to achieve his ambition of becoming Prime Minister.
"During the Sheraton Move, I asked him whether he was willing to set aside principles and cooperate with kleptocrats and the 'Umno court cluster'. Muhyiddin said principles were not important, and what mattered was politics," he said in a letter to the Johor people.
Dr Mahathir, who was former Prime Minister before the Sheraton Move, said he and several other people had held on to the principle of rejecting any cooperation with Umno which had already been ousted by the people.
It was then, he added, that they formed Pejuang, as Bersatu led by Muhyiddin no longer defended the party's original struggle.
"We believed that Muhyiddin would be betrayed by the kleptocrats, and had reminded him that working together with kleptocrats and the Umno court cluster was akin to riding a tiger and being ravaged in the end.
"What we predicted did happen. Muhyiddin was betrayed by Umno and lost his position as prime minister in just 17 months."
He said this was the result of prioritising politics instead of principles, and he pointed out that the kleptocrats now had the power to change the government at will, without caring for the welfare of the people.
"It is too late for Muhyiddin to fight Umno. It is now up to other parties to refuse kleptocracy.
"Pejuang rejects Umno because we do not want kleptocrats to return to power. All quarters will reject kleptocracy if they support Pejuang, and will restore the government which prioritises the people.
"The state of Johor will be safe," he added.