PERMATANG PAUH, May 4 — Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir defended today Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s attacks against Datuk Seri Najib Razak, saying that the former prime minister’s criticisms were for the benefit of Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno.

Mukhriz, who is Dr Mahathir’s son, also said the elder statesman is still loyal to BN and has no intentions of supporting Pakatan Rakyat despite Dr Mahathir raising similar issues against the prime minister like the opposition pact.

“He has his own view but his view is to strengthen the party, never to weaken the party, so don’t hope that he will support Pakatan,” Mukhriz said during a press conference at a BN luncheon in Tanah Liat here.

“It doesn’t come up at all the issue that Tun Mahathir supports the opposition,” he added.

He also said that Dr Mahathir was still hoping that BN would win the Rompin and Permatang Pauh seats in the by-elections scheduled tomorrow and Thursday respectively.

“If you look at his statements he is still hoping that BN will not only win in Rompin but also in Permatang Pauh. That proves to us that no matter what  statement he makes, in his opinion, it is for the good of Umno and BN,” Mukhriz said.

Dr Mahathir has recently trained his sights on Najib by calling for his resignation after the latter failed to sufficiently explain the reasoning behind indebted state-owned 1 Malaysia Development Berhad and also the 2006 murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Although many Umno members have come out in support of Najib, Mukhriz has stayed mum on the topic, resulting in Bukit Lada assemblyman Datuk Ahmad Lebai Sudin calling for his resignation.