IPOH, July 16 — Former Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) vice-president Datuk Hamidah Osman said she did not want to go to hell for lying to the country, after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said those claiming his party was Lim Kit Siang’s brainchild should be committed.
Yesterday, Hamidah held a press conference and confessed she was the informant who told Barisan Nasional advisor Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the DAP leader had purportedly suggested Bersatu’s formation to Dr Mahathir in 2016.
“I would like to thank Dr Mahathir for acknowledging that Lim had proposed to set up another Malay party to attract 10 per cent of Umno votes,” Hamidah said in a statement.
“However, I’m surprised why after acknowledging, Dr Mahathir proposed that I and Datuk Seri Najib should go to Tanjung Rambutan.
“But I guess it’s okay to go to Tanjung Rambutan rather than going to hell for lying to the nation and religion. I could not lie and betray my own people for my own interest,” she added.
Tanjung Rambutan is the site of Hospital Bahagia, the country’s oldest mental asylum.
Najib previously claimed he was told that Lim had mooted the formation of Bersatu to Dr Mahathir, effectively making DAP the “father” of the latter’s party.
Lim then challenged Najib to identify his informant but Hamidah came out to confess her role yesterday before the former prime minister could respond.
Yesterday, Hamidah also claimed that she personally witnessed Lim pitching the idea to Dr Mahathir in 2016.
Hamidah left Bersatu in 2017 and is now with the newly-formed Parti Putra Perkasa Negara as a vice-president
Prior to Hamidah’s revelation yesterday, Bersatu chairman Dr Mahathir said those claiming that Lim was behind his party belonged in Tanjung Rambutan.
He mockingly agreed that all Malay leaders gathered in a meeting with Lim and blindly agreed to everything the latter proposed.
