A meeting at Mahathir's house on the afternoon of Feb 23 has become a point of interest after a photo of it emerged on social media yesterday.
The photo (above) shows Mahathir sitting with Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, GPS chief Abang Johari Openg and chief whip Fadillah Yusof, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, Warisan president Shafie Apdal, then PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.
Perikatan Nasional supporters claimed this is proof that the former prime minister was in support of pulling Bersatu out of Pakatan Harapan to form a new coalition government.
Bersatu supreme council member Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi (photo), however, said this meeting was arranged by Muhyiddin after failing to convince Mahathir to exit Harapan at a party meeting earlier.
"After the (Bersatu) meeting, Muhyiddin then surprised Mahathir informing him that leaders of Malay parties were waiting for Mahathir at his home.
"I understand that after six hours of meetings at the Bersatu HQ where he failed to convince Mahathir to leave Harapan, Muhyiddin with Zahid, Hadi and others failed again to convince Mahathir at his home even after almost two hours of discussions.
"They only left as they had presumed they would succeed and had set an appointment to meet the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. We do not know what they informed the Agong," Akhramsyah told Malaysiakini.
He said that Muhyiddin and the others then proceeded with the “Sheraton Move” despite not having Mahathir on their side.
He claimed that the nonagenarian went to bed early at around 10pm that night, which he found out while trying to reassure Harapan leaders that Mahathir was not part of the plot.
He said the former prime minister decided to resign the next day, as he saw the Sheraton move as Muhyiddin and other Bersatu leaders betraying the trust given to him to decide whether the party should exit Harapan.
"Mahathir didn't plan this. Mahathir didn't give his blessing. Mahathir has been opposing this idea of leaving Harapan without instigation from the start," Akhramsyah said.
The disputed Bersatu chairperson had previously said that he saw no reason for the party to leave Harapan after the coalition decided to entrust him with deciding when he would step down at a meeting on Feb 21.
Bersatu leaders aligned to Muhyiddin, however, insist that the party’s supreme council agreed to quit Harapan on Feb 23 and that this was Mahathir's wish.
The Sheraton Move triggered a week-long crisis which ended with Muhyiddin being sworn-in as prime minister.
On Thursday, Mahathir and four others had their party membership nullified terminated for not sitting with PN during the May 18 Parliament sitting.
They dispute the termination.
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