In 2018, then BN secretary-general Nazri Abdul Aziz reached out to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and pledged Umno's support if the latter would guarantee the party is not dissolved once he becomes prime minister.
Nazri - who is now vocally against Umno working with Anwar - said his manoeuvrings at the time was necessary to ensure his party's survival.
"At the time, I felt I needed to be close to the next PM, and then coax him not to dissolve Umno.
"Because (then prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad was set on dissolving us," he told Malaysiakini today.
Mahathir had wanted to dissolve Umno in order to consolidate power and bolster his then-party Bersatu.
However, the situation changed when the Pakatan Harapan government collapsed in February 2020.
Now back in government, Nazri said Umno was no longer under threat, and hence did not need Anwar anymore.
"I'm now comfortable that Umno will never be dissolved," he said.
Nazri said this when asked why he changed his support for Anwar.
The Padang Rengas MP had been vocal about rejecting Umno cooperation with the opposition leader - as had been determined by the Supreme Council and Umno general assembly this year.
This stance had motivated him to turn against Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi - whom he believed was still trying to align the party with Anwar.
Nazri said 25 out of 42 BN lawmakers have signed a declaration pledging support for Sembrong MP Hishammuddin Hussein as their spokesperson.
This is as Nazri did not trust Zahid represented the party truthfully during his meeting with the king earlier this month.
"I trust Hishammuddin to tell the truth that we don't support Anwar or DAP," he added.
In October last year, Zahid allegedly signed a letter to the king pledging support for Anwar.
Zahid's office claimed the letter was fake, but former Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa said otherwise. - Mkini
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