Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh has again denied that he was ever aligned with former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad but had only supported certain issues in common.
Ku Li, as he is also known, reiterated he was not part of the Citizens’ Declaration initiated by Dr Mahathir, nor would he sign it, and reiterated that he had no ambitions to be prime minister, being “too old” for the post.
He said he previously had the opportunity to move up but he had made way for Dr Mahathir instead.
He was referring to his days as the most senior Umno member in Hussein Onn’s Cabinet and the most senior member of the Umno Supreme Council, but had allowed Hussein to choose Mahathir as deputy prime minister.
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Tengku Razaleigh said he had attended a press conference on October 12 in protest against security charges being used against two of Mahathir’s supporters. “I attended and I made a statement at that press conference. But they immediately labelled me as being with Mahathir,” he told Mingguan Malaysia in an interview.
“No, when have I ever been with Mahathir?” he asked in the interview.
In the 1980s, Tengku Razaleigh challenged Dr Mahathir for the Umno presidency and was narrowly defeated, resulting in a court case that led to Umno being deregistered. Mahathir formed Umno (Baru) while Razaleigh went into Opposition with a new party Semangat 46, making alliances with PAS and the DAP. He later disbanded the party and joined the new Umno.
Tengku Razaleigh’s remarks about Mahathir come in the wake of criticism for supposedly having made a U-turn, by recently declaring support for Najib Razak, after having been regarded as part of Dr Mahathir’s campaign to oust the prime minister.
He explained that he had attended the October 12 press conference “with the knowledge that I would be protesting the detention of Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan and Matthias Chang. It so happens that Chang was my lawyer previously.”
Khairuddin and Chang, both staunch Mahathir supporters, were arrested after they sought to lodge reports overseas against the government’s controversial investment arm, 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
Dr Mahathir has led a year-long campaign to oust Najib, featuring corruption allegations about 1MDB and Najib.
Last week Dr Mahathir accused Tengku Razaleigh of betrayal for declaring support for Najib while also alleging he had tried but failed to get sufficient support for a parliamentary motion against the PM.
Tengku Razaleigh has also been touted as a possible caretaker prime minister after forcing Najib to leave. “No, I have been in Umno way too long and I am too old to become the prime minister. I contested in the last election not to go after the prime minister’s position,” he said.
Ku Li, as he is also known, reiterated he was not part of the Citizens’ Declaration initiated by Dr Mahathir, nor would he sign it, and reiterated that he had no ambitions to be prime minister, being “too old” for the post.
He said he previously had the opportunity to move up but he had made way for Dr Mahathir instead.
He was referring to his days as the most senior Umno member in Hussein Onn’s Cabinet and the most senior member of the Umno Supreme Council, but had allowed Hussein to choose Mahathir as deputy prime minister.
Tengku Razaleigh said he had attended a press conference on October 12 in protest against security charges being used against two of Mahathir’s supporters. “I attended and I made a statement at that press conference. But they immediately labelled me as being with Mahathir,” he told Mingguan Malaysia in an interview.
“No, when have I ever been with Mahathir?” he asked in the interview.
In the 1980s, Tengku Razaleigh challenged Dr Mahathir for the Umno presidency and was narrowly defeated, resulting in a court case that led to Umno being deregistered. Mahathir formed Umno (Baru) while Razaleigh went into Opposition with a new party Semangat 46, making alliances with PAS and the DAP. He later disbanded the party and joined the new Umno.
Tengku Razaleigh’s remarks about Mahathir come in the wake of criticism for supposedly having made a U-turn, by recently declaring support for Najib Razak, after having been regarded as part of Dr Mahathir’s campaign to oust the prime minister.
He explained that he had attended the October 12 press conference “with the knowledge that I would be protesting the detention of Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan and Matthias Chang. It so happens that Chang was my lawyer previously.”
Khairuddin and Chang, both staunch Mahathir supporters, were arrested after they sought to lodge reports overseas against the government’s controversial investment arm, 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
Dr Mahathir has led a year-long campaign to oust Najib, featuring corruption allegations about 1MDB and Najib.
Last week Dr Mahathir accused Tengku Razaleigh of betrayal for declaring support for Najib while also alleging he had tried but failed to get sufficient support for a parliamentary motion against the PM.
Tengku Razaleigh has also been touted as a possible caretaker prime minister after forcing Najib to leave. “No, I have been in Umno way too long and I am too old to become the prime minister. I contested in the last election not to go after the prime minister’s position,” he said.