US embassy denies offer to help topple govt in 2014
Charge d’Affaires says his country has never sought to decide Malaysia's political leadership.
The US embassy has refuted claims that it offered to assist in removing the Malaysian government in 2014, in response to a statement made by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang. Charge d’Affaires David H Gamble Jr stated categorically that "any account to the contrary is false." Hadi alleged that the offer was made during a meeting at the embassy during Barack Obama's visit, attended by several PAS leaders.
PAS auxiliary secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan and Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who was Hadi's political secretary at the time, accepted the invitation to the meeting. However, the duo dismissed the proposal and declined to participate, according to Hadi. Following the meeting, the US ambassador requested a separate conversation with Hadi, which he attended alongside Mustafa Ali, then PAS secretary-general.
The ambassador reportedly inquired about the name of PAS's prospective prime minister, to which Hadi responded, "Who does America agree with?" Hadi recounted this episode to former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who reportedly found it "good." The Barisan Nasional party relinquished control of Putrajaya during the 2018 general election, with the then opposition Pakatan Harapan's election campaign centered on the 1MDB scandal and corruption allegations against former Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- US embassy denies offer to help topple govt in 2014 freemalaysiatoday.com
