Dr M: I'll testify if needed

ACA interviews former PM. Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today the ACA came to see him yesterday on the VK Lingam video clip.

"There were 3 officers," he said. Their meeting lasted an hour.

Dr M told a press conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation that he would testify if the Royal Commission wants him to. "If I am required to testify, I can't say no."

He was responding to a question if he had been approached by the authorities with regards to the controversual video. Asked about allegations of judge-fixing that followed the disclosure of the video clip by his former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Mahathir said he had not seen the video and would not know of whatever might have been said in the videod phone conversation between lawyer Lingam and the former Chief of Justice, said to be the man at the other end of the line.

Sources said among things dicussed during the ACA interview were letters related to the appointment of a CJ.

Ethnic cleansing, street demos, and ISA.

On the use of the Internal Security Act to arrest the Hindraf 5, Dr M reminded the press conference that when he was prime minister he used to apply the ISA to detain people as well.

"We are a democratic country. If you elect people who believe in the ISA, the ISA will be there. If you don't like the ISA, don't vote people who believe in the ISA," he said.

On Hindraf's claims that the Indians in the country have been marginalised and were victims of ethnic cleansing, Dr M said: "I read a lot of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia but here in Malaysia I have not heard of thousands of Indians being killed. I find the allegations (of ethnic cleansing of Indians in Malaysia) a little bit absurd."

Dr M said Hindraf was entitled to raise the issues facing the Indians in the country, "but there are other ways of doing it." The former PM also said he's not against street demonstrations if there are no other ways available to raise one's grouses.

Earlier, Dr M launched the book "The Third World and International Law" by Tunku Sofiah Jewa, a niece of first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman. It was his first official do since his heart surgery on Sept 6. I must say he looked a little frail. But I had to agree with the reporter from the Star, who quipped after the press conference: "He hasn't lost it."