Muhyiddin wants to be a PM again    

KUALA LUMPUR - Pejuang chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad claimed that Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin met him recently to ask for support to become the Prime Minister again.

Dr Mahathir said he also wondered why the Pagoh MP had done so.

“I was speechless. The reason I did not become the Prime Minister was because of Muhyiddin. He stabbed me in the back so that I could not be the Prime Minister.

"Right now he wants to ask for help from the person whom he stabbed in the back,” he said at a press conference after a meeting with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Foundation at Yayasan Albukhary, here, on Friday.

Dr Mahathir said this when asked about a statement made by Pejuang president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir who revealed about a meeting between Muhyiddin and Dr Mahathir.

Asked what made him feel like it was difficult to work together with Muhyiddin, the Langkawi MP said it was due to several factors.

He claimed that during his tenure as the Prime Minister, many people were not happy with Muhyiddin’s leadership.

"He (Muhyiddin) was not a good Prime Minister and that was why there was no reason for people to re-elect him (as Prime Minister). Unless, there was a big achievement he did for the country.

Commenting on the Johor state election, Dr Mahathir said the practice of money politics was one of the reasons his party lost.

He said there were some parties that gave out up to RM300 to voters in return for their support.

He added that clearly, there were no such practices in Pejuang.

Meanwhile, Pejuang expressed no intentions to form any opposition bloc against Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 15th general election.

Dr Mahathir said the matter has never even been discussed.

“This is a tough problem because when we think of a certain party, we find that many actually disliked that party,” he said.

However, Bersatu Secretary General Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the meeting between Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin was part of the bigger picture to ensure that what was done was for the greater good.

He said there must be unity among leaders and there should be no ego involved over the matter.

"That to me is not an open-minded attitude. It does not matter who met whom.

"What is important to all of us leaders, especially the great ones in the country, is to sit down and think about their responsibilities for the sake of the people," he said.

Hamzah said this at a press conference after an engagement session with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) at the Home Ministry on Friday.