Mahathir: Umno must go, not just Najib

Former premier says his former party must be defeated and a new party stronger than Umno is needed.

PETALING JAYA: It is no longer enough to remove Najib Razak from power, Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today. Umno itself must be defeated.

The former premier, speaking at a ceramah in Kota Bharu last night, said he was disappointed with Umno’s condition.

Umno leaders were no longer proper leaders; they feared to speak up and would only follow orders, he told the Sinar Harian newspaper.

“This party (Umno) has to be defeated and we need a new party that is stronger than Umno. I loved Umno, that was why I was with Umno for a long time,” he said.

Dr Mahathir has spearheaded a campaign for more than a year with the focus on ousting Najib Razak as Umno president and prime minister.

He left Umno earlier this year and has founded Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, which is awaiting registration, to form a united opposition front to contest at the next general election against the Barisan Nasional.

Responding to criticisms of his association with the DAP in the new alliance, Dr Mahathir said Najib’s father, Tun Abdul Razak, had also forged an alliance with opposition parties.

Tun Razak had formed the Barisan Nasional in 1973 after bringing opposition parties Gerakan and PAS together with Umno, MCA and MIC, which had formed the Alliance party.

“Some people have asked me, how can I work with (DAP’s) Lim Kit Siang when I fiercely condemned him in the past and he did the same to me. But in our efforts to achieve success, we have to always be smart,” he said, pointing out that Tun Razak had also approached the DAP (which rejected the offer).

He said he was using the same strategy.