Dr M to headline March 27 ‘People’s Congress 2016’ in Shah Alam
(Malay Mail Online) – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the man leading the “Save Malaysia” campaign against Datuk Seri Najib Razak, will be the keynote speaker for a gathering of the prime minister’s critics this March 27.
According to an invitation to the gathering sighted by Malay Mail Online, the event now called the “People’s Congress 2016” is set to take place indoors at the Shah Alam Convention Centre (SACC) from 12pm until 6.30pm on the day.
The invitation from former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, believed sent exclusively to those chosen as speakers for the event, confirmed that Dr Mahathir will deliver the keynote address, which will later be debated by other leaders of the newly-formed movement.
“Due to the shortage of time, each speech is limited to just 12 minutes. The speeches can be delivered in Bahasa Malaysia/English or both,” the invitation said.
Apart from Dr Mahathir and Zaid, 15 others have been invited to deliver speeches at the event.
They include Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir and Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik; Pakatan Harapan’s Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, Lim Kit Siang, Mohamad Sabu, Datuk Husam Musa, Datuk Mahfuz Omar, Rafizi Ramli and Tony Pua; and activists Maria Chin Abdullah, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Fahmi Zainol and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
Zaid first mooted the gathering in a blog post last month, in which he urged Malaysians to rally behind Dr Mahathir in the latter’s call for Najib’s removal.
After a warning from Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, Zaid explained that the gathering would be a closed-door meeting of like-minded Malaysians who wanted to uphold the rule of law.
Zaid is one of the signatories of the so-called “Citizens Declaration” unveiled on March 4 by Dr Mahathir, the latest iteration of the former prime minister’s campaign to force Najib to resign.