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Dr M: Cooperation with Ku Li failed to secure Umno MPs’ support

Dr M: Cooperation with Ku Li failed to secure Umno MPs’ support
Dr M: Cooperation with Ku Li failed to secure Umno MPs’ support

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad has opened up about his "failed cooperation" with Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to attract the support of Umno MPs.

In an interview with an online portal Malaysia Post last night, Mahathir claimed that the Gua Musang MP has failed to convince enough numbers of Umno MPs to withdraw their support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

He said this in reference to his press conference with Tengku Razaleigh last Dec 14, where they had alluded to a possible government change.

"Tengku Razaleigh has influence in Umno, so if he can attract two or three MPs to withdraw their support, the government will fall. But he wasn't successful.

"I was with him at the time as he claimed he could attract Umno MPs to leave, but actually, none of them did.

"Nobody wanted to leave their positions. His friends, his associates, not one of them wanted to leave and it was left with just him," said the former Pakatan Harapan chairperson.

The press conference featuring two former political rivals was held a day prior to the third reading of the Supply Bill 2021 in parliament, where a failure to pass the allocations would be taken as a no-confidence vote against PN.

Tengku Razaleigh at the time said the country needed a more stable government than PN.

Attempts to move against PN, however, failed and Budget 2021 was passed through a bloc vote with a majority of three votes.

About a month later, two more Umno MPs - Machang MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub and Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz - followed Tengku Razaleigh's footsteps to withdraw their support for PN.

However, the very same day, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced an emergency declaration and suspended Parliament.

Last November, Tengku Razaleigh had also written a letter to all MPs, requesting their support for a vote of no confidence against Muhyiddin.