Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad is well aware that he, too, could face jail time if Pakatan Rakyat comes into power, former information minister Zainuddin Maidin said.

This is why the strenuous urgings for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to buck up should not be seen as a personal attack but a call to action for greater good, Zainuddin said in his blog.

“Mahathir, seen as the authoritarian, will be arrested first, followed by Najib and others on charges of abuse of power, related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) or other matters.

“So, by making this gentle yet stern reminder, Mahathir is warning not only Najib but also himself. It is a warning meant for the safety of all,” Zainuddin ( right ) said in his blog.

Mahathir had in a video interview released online yesterday cautioned that many who enjoy power now may lose their freedom once Pakatan takes the government.

“But what I am most afraid of is, if the opposition wins, and we lose, the opposition has no sympathy.

“They will dig (for answers), and if they dig, people will be charged in court and may be found guilty.

“So if BN loses... a lot of people will have to pay a big price,” Mahathir said in a private interview uploaded on YouTube yesterday.

Zainuddin said Najib must face facts, that things are not looking good despite his “brave face on TV3”, where a pre-recorded interview with the PM was recorded with intention to stave off Mahathir’s criticism.

“(The interview) was more to answer internal party pressure... but he gave no answers. The staged shows of support too do not show what is real,” he said.

TV3’s interview with Najib came soon after BN Backbenchers’ Council chairperson Shahrir Samad and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin urged the prime minister to speak up for himself.

Najib has been under fire from Mahathir, who has dredged up issues from Najib’s now debt-laden brainchild 1MDB to the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006, which was linked to Najib through two of his former bodyguards and a close confidante, Abdul Razak Baginda.

In response, Najib said the public audit he instructed on 1MDB is already under way, while he had in 2008 taken a religious oath (sumpah laknat) that he does not know Altantuya.