Dr M shaped me to “be true and loyal” but went against his own words just for his son - Nazri

KUALA LUMPUR – As a rookie minister, Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz said he was always reminded to be true to his struggle and love for the party.

The one who offered him the advice was non-other than Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad during his first tenure as Prime Minister.

Nazri, being greenhorn in politics at the time, received numerous advice from the head of state on how to survive not only in politics but also carrying out his ministerial duties.

The Padang Rengas MP said however, Dr Mahathir had gone against all the advice he had imparted on him due to personal interests and nepotism.

“One example, he told me a long time ago that you have to be true to your struggle, and how you have to be loyal to your party but he was the one who did not walk his talk.

“He said that Umno is our only means, our saviour to help the Malays but what did he do after that? He jumped ship (just because of) favouritism to his son, it’s obvious.

“He was very much against favouritism, nepotism but he forgot all that when it comes to his son. This is just one example, there are many more (that show) he didn’t walk his talks.

“So, how do you think I should feel?” Nazri told Sinar Daily in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

Nazri said Dr Mahathir gave him good advice which includes being true to his struggle and being loyal to the party, but the latter went against his own advice.

When asked if his relationship with Dr Mahathir had shaped him to be what he is today, Nazri said yes and that has been following the former’s advice and have been loyal to the party until today.

He further commented saying “we are not happy with certain quarters in the party, perhaps we could try to get rid of them and if that fails, it means that they are the minority”.

As a minority, Nazri said they would need to respect the democracy but this did not happen with Dr Mahathir as he left when former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was not removed from Umno.

“He felt that Umno did not abandon Najib so he had to bring him down.

“That is not the way, a lot of things he said in the past which were really good advice given to us but he broke it probably because he got too personal with Najib,” he said.

In 2016, Mahathir, the country’s longest-serving leader had quit Umno, stating that he was being seen as “supporting corruption” under Najib’s leadership.

He remained an influential figure and had become the fiercest critic of Najib, who was facing pressure over a graft scandal surrounding state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

He then formed the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and held the chairman position but left the party in 2020 in protest after the party a new coalition with Umno under what is now dubbed the “Sheraton Move”.

The two-time prime minister in the same year unveiled the name of his new political party Parti Pejuang Tanahair (Pejuang) which aimed to fight for the Malays and cleanse the country of corruption.

Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir co-founded the party with his father and currently the Pejuang President.

He was the Kedah Menteri Besar twice and was Bersatu deputy President prior to forming Pejuang.