I used DAP, they used me too: Dr M says of GE14 alliance

 

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad claims that both he and DAP were merely using each other in 2018 to topple the Najib Abdul Razak administration.

In the latest episode of ‘Keluar Sekejap’ podcast, Mahathir defended his alleged “inconsistency” by working with DAP to achieve a majority in in the 14th general election.

“When we fight, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. We wanted to use DAP, for example, to get a majority (in the 2018 general elections).

“If I didn’t use DAP, we would not have gotten a majority and Najib would’ve become prime minister.

“Between DAP and Najib, who do we need to fight? That’s why I used them.

“And then I realised, that DAP also wanted to use me - because they had the same goal of getting a majority. So we did,” he said.

Earlier, Keluar Sekejap co-host Shahril Hamdan questioned the former prime minister’s opinion that Anwar Ibrahim had become inconsistent in his stance since being made prime minister.

Shahril pointed out that Mahathir had been a staunch critic of DAP as well as PAS, whom the latter is now closely affiliated with.

The former Umno president quit his party before forming Bersatu in 2016, which then entered the Pakatan Harapan coalition comprising PKR, DAP, and Amanah.

Mahathir was then ousted from Bersatu following the 2020 Sheraton Move, following which he formed the Malay-based party Pejuang.

He has since quit Pejuang and is now the informal adviser of the four PAS-led state governments - Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan, and Perlis.

Najib ‘ruined’ Umno

Speaking about Najib, who is serving a 12-year prison sentence after being found guilty of graft and money laundering, Mahathir opined that his former rival had “ruined Umno”.

“(Najib brought Umno) from a party that fought for the nation, country, and religion to a party that fought for cash.

“That became Umno’s struggle. That wasn’t the Umno (that I knew), I couldn’t sit in the party like that.

“Secondly, he (Najib) taught the Malays to rely on the government to ask for things, like asking for alms.

“That wasn’t the value of the Malays. The Malays should be ashamed. But Najib said ‘Why should I be ashamed? I am the boss’.”

Mahathir admitted, however, that he was initially excited about Najib’s entrance into the party as he was the eldest son of former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein.

“I owed it to Tun Razak. Without Tun Razak, I wouldn’t be where I am now. So I wanted to support his son and repay him.

“...Eventually, I found out he (Najib) wasn’t like his father. He prioritised himself. Soon after, I found out that he played with money,” he said. - Mkini