Najib: I have always communicated with Anwar

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak revealed that he has communicated with PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim on a regular basis, including calling him on the night of the May 9 general election.

"Yes, there was (a call on May 9). All this while, I have been communicating with him. Mostly to ask how he was personally, among others," Najib said in an interview with Karangkraf executive editorial advisor Abdul Jalil Ali, which was broadcasted live on the Sinar Harian Facebook page this morning.

Jalil asked Najib if it was true that he contacted Anwar, who was in a hospital in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, at the time while still serving a prison term.

In September, Anwar claimed that Najib called him on the night of May 9, after BN was defeated in the general election, to strike a deal.

"He was going on and on saying this – there are possibilities of having some sort of arrangement because we (BN) are not satisfied with the results of the election.

"Finally, I said look, I am still technically in prison... This is going to be your last call to me. After this, you are going to deal with (Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad, the incoming prime minister).

"Then he became a bit quiet for a while," Anwar had said.

Responding to another question, Najib denied there were attempts to convince Pakatan Harapan MPs to join BN after the election.

"No. There were witnesses. Key leaders were at my residence. We did not discuss 'stealing' or 'buying' any Harapan MP. I don't know where that rumour came from.

"I also want to reiterate, it was not part of my plans. There were also allegations that I would hold a National Security Council meeting to declare an emergency. That allegation is untrue," Najib added.

In a recent interview, Mahathir claimed that Harapan encountered “difficulties from within” on the night of May 9.

He accused Umno and PAS leaders of attempting to court Malay-Muslim elected representatives from Harapan to form a Malay-Muslim majority government.

“It had to do with racial and religious politics. There was a fear that our coalition was not going to respect the position of Islam as much as the previous government had.

“So there was an idea that if the Muslims from Umno, PAS and PH all came together, they could have the majority and form a Malay-Muslim government, but they were advised against that,” Mahathir had said. - Mkini