Ex-CJ Who Alleged Tun M Was In Hurry To Be Sworn-In Now Says He "Made A Mistake Of Facts"
The ex-CJ was called out by the Prime Minister's office for his claims.
By Sadho Ram — 13 Jan 2019, 05:07 AM
Earlier this week, former chief justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad alleged in a blog post that Tun Dr Mahathir was in hurry to be sworn-in and had gone to the palace uninvited on the night of 9 May to wake up the Agong to swear him in as the 7th prime minister
Ex-CJ Abdul Hamid said the reason Tun Dr Mahathir was in a hurry because he feared that he could lose the majority due to defections amongst the newly-elected MPs.
"To me, it is embarrassing for a future prime minister to go uninvited at night, perhaps waking up the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong if he was asleep to swear him in as prime minister. Secondly, the Agong should not be seen to be working under duress.
"His Majesty has the prerogative to satisfy himself who has the majority support amongst the newly-elected MPs," he wrote on his personal blog on Wednesday. The blog post was later reposted by Umno Online on Friday, according to Malaysiakini.
Former CJ Abdul Hamid's claims were, however, refuted by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), which called them "baseless"
"The PMO would like to clarify that Hamid's claim is baseless and there was no attempt by Mahathir to go to the Istana that night (9 May, the day of GE14).
"He went to Istana only in the late afternoon the next day (10 May) for the oath-taking ceremony," the PMO said in a statement released on Friday, 11 January.
Following the PMO statement, Abdul Hamid, who served as the 5th Chief Justice of Malaysia, has now apologised to Tun Dr Mahathir
The former chief justice said that in writing that blog post on Wednesday he "made a mistake of facts, and comments arising from the mistake of facts".
"I acknowledge that it was due to my own negligence and I offer no excuses for the mistake. I am fully responsible for it.
"I humbly and regretfully apologise to Mahathir for the mistake and any negative perception of him caused by the mistake and comments.
"I also extend my humble apologies to His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong if there is any mistake of facts involving him in the article although, to date, no one has pointed it out," Abdul Hamid wrote in a new blog post yesterday, 12 January.
