Najib asks Dr Mahathir to stop making him the fall guy and come clean over real reasons for resignation as PM

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has accused Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad of lying about the real reason for the latter’s resignation as the country’s seventh prime minister.

Najib in a Facebook post today wrote that Dr Mahathir had other reasons for his resignation in February and that it was not merely because of Umno and him.

“There are three main reasons why he (Dr Mahathir) resigned as prime minister.

“He does not want Anwar (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) to be prime minister; he does not want to be controlled by DAP and PKR anymore; and he was worried that Bersatu and Pakatan Harapan would lose badly in the 15th general election,” Najib posted on Facebook.

Najib’s allegations came after Dr Mahathir earlier today claimed that he had resigned in February because he did not want to be the prime minister of a coalition government that is not “pure”.

In response to Dr Mahathir, Najib then alleged that the Langkawi MP had other reasons for resigning but instead blamed him for it.

He claimed that Dr Mahathir also did not inform his allies in Pakatan Harapan (PH) about his decision and reasons to resign before doing so.

“He sent in his resignation letter at 1pm. Bersatu announced it was leaving PH at 2pm.

“At the time, he didn’t inform his friends in PH or Warisan (Parti Warisan Sabah) that he would resign and why he was going to resign.

“After resigning on February 24, he was never angry at Bersatu or Muhyiddin (Yassin) or anyone. This was until the evening of February 29.

“The day after he resigned he even ignored PH’s request to have a meeting to discuss how they could save the Harapan government,” Najib said.

Najib said Dr Mahathir had only started to put the blame on others after the King had announced that the latter was not the eighth prime minister.

He also cited other reasons why Dr Mahathir made the move, indicating his concern over PH’s loss in five by-elections.

“That is why he (Dr Mahathir) indicated that he wanted to be a prime minister for a unity government where he could select which MP he likes and not depend on the wishes of respective parties,” he added.

He also said that, with a unity government, it meant that Dr Mahathir no longer had to worry about transferring power to Anwar, he would no longer be controlled by DAP and PKR, and he would no longer have to worry about losing to Barisan Nasional (BN)/Muafakat Nasional (MN) as they would be part of his government.

Najib also alleged that all three problems would have been solved if Dr Mahathir had succeeded with setting up his “dream” unity government. 

“But he failed, since BN, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak had declined to work with DAP.

“Just admit your true plans. Can you be honest? Why keep blaming me?” Najib said.